Liverpool held, faces fixture pile-up
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Jurgen Klopp faces an unwanted fixture pile-up after Liverpool was held to a dour 0-0 draw by West Ham in the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield on Saturday.
Reds boss Klopp picked a fairly inexperienced team in order to give several senior players a rest, but the stand-ins were unable to find a winner against opponents who lost James Tomkins and Cheikhou Kouyate to first-half injuries.
Young midfielders Cameron Brannagan and Joao Teixeira had shots beaten away by Hammers goalkeeper Darren Randolph, who was only playing because first choice Adrian had returned home to Seville to attend the birth of his first child.
Christian Benteke also failed to convert three second-half chances, meaning Klopp’s side must travel to Upton Park for a replay next month.
Liverpool, who are still competing in four competitions, have played nine matches during January, and now face at least seven in February.
Also, Manchester City remained in the hunt for a record trophy quadruple after a hat-trick from teenager Kelechi Iheanacho demolished Aston Villa 4-0. There were wins for cup holder Arsenal, 2-1 over second-tier Burnley, and Tottenham, 4-1 at Colchester United, as well.
But City’s convincing victory showed the real strength in depth of Manuel Pellegrini’s squad, with 19-year-old Iheanacho taking over the goalscoring duties from Sergio Aguero, who watched from the bench.
The bookmakers already made City the favorite to win the English Premier League, where it lies second behind surprise leader Leicester City.
In Spain, Luis Suarez was Barcelona’s match-winner once more as the European champion took firm control of the La Liga title race by defeating closest rival Atletico Madrid 2-1.
Barcelona was far from its best on Saturday, outplayed for the first half hour, and fell behind early on.
Yet, even Atletico’s rock solid defence was powerless to stop a two-goal burst in eight minutes just before half-time from Lionel Messi and Suarez.
Victory moves Luis Enrique’s men three points clear of Atletico, which was down to nine men, and seven ahead of third-placed Real Madrid. Atletico’s Filipe Luis earned a direct red card and Diego Godin was shown a second yellow.
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