Tottenham stayed fourth with a 2-0 victory over Fulham as Liverpool’s bid to rejoin the English Premier League’s elite group faltered further with a draw at Wolverhampton on Tuesday.
Peter Crouch and David Bentley scored to deliver Tottenham’s first league win in a month. While Liverpool did move up to fifth with a draw, Manchester City are a place behind and level on points with two games in hand.
At the start of the match at White Hart Lane, Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer had to be instantly alert as Spurs came close three times inside two minutes through Tom Huddlestone, Jermain Defoe and Crouch.
Schwarzer was finally beaten in the 27th minute when Crouch slipped the ball in from close range. The instigator was out-of-favor midfielder Bentley whose cross from the right was clipped over Bjorn Helge Riise by Luka Modric from the byline.
Modric then volleyed to Crouch, who found the net despite pressure from Schwarzer.
Bentley, on a rare league start, put Tottenham further ahead on the hour with his first goal in five months from a free kick that deflected off Riise’s head.
The victory enabled Spurs to move further clear of Liverpool in the race for the four Champions League spots.
On a freezing night in central England, Liverpool couldn’t find a way past Wolves in a 0-0 draw despite captain Steven Gerrard returning from a two-match injury absence and new midfielder Maxi Rodriguez making a first start.
Liverpool dominated the first half but found the home side difficult to break down and the closest the visitors came after the break was Rodriguez and Dirk Kuyt striking speculatively from distance.
“We didn’t create clear chances and the final pass in the final third was the difference,” Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. “In the second half they were pushing harder and we had to defend, but we still had some good counterattacks. Again the final pass was the difference. If you analyze the game, then the result is fair.”
In the battle against relegation, Owen Coyle’s Bolton moved out of the drop zone at the expense of Burnley.
Coyle said furious Burnley fans had chosen the wrong biblical character when they abused him for his decision to switch clubs earlier this month.
Coyle watched his Bolton side win 1-0 against the club he steered back to the top flight of English football last year for the first time since 1976 — a result that meant Burnley replaced local rivals Bolton in the relegation zone.
“It’s testament to the job I did there that they are so disappointed I left,” Coyle told Sky Sports when asked about banners amongst the 5,000 visiting fans labeling him Judas.
“In terms of what they wanted to call me, they were biblical with it, I think it was Judas tonight wasn’t it? Last year it was God but if they are going to be biblical I think it should be Moses because I led them from the wilderness,” he said.
Another banner recited a classic piece of Monty Python humor. “He’s Not The Messiah. He’s A Very Naughty Boy” it read, borrowing a line from the film The Life of Brian.
“They are a terrific set of fans and they back their team and they did that tonight,” Coyle said. “Nothing will change my feelings for Burnley Football Club until the day I die.”
Burnley’s defeat was their third in a row without scoring under new manager Brian Laws.
Bolton moved up to 15th, a point ahead of West Ham, who led at Portsmouth through Matthew Upson’s goal, before home substitute Danny Webber canceled it out with his first league goal to make the final score 1-1.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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