Everton 2 – 2 Liverpool

Liverpool failed to make it back to back Premier league wins after an incredible Everton comeback and a controversial disallowed Luis Suarez goal in the 219^th Merseyside Derby.

Both sides will go into their next Premier league ties hoping for more than a draw after a fuelled encounter.

Suarez was convinced he sealed a victory for Liverpool in stoppage time as he tapped the ball into the Everton net. But it was controversially ruled offside.

Liverpool were on top in the first half but Marouane Fellaini’s pass across the penalty area to Steven Naismith levelled play in the 35^th minute.

Leon Osman halved Liverpool’s lead in the 22nd  minute with a fantastic finish that eluded their defence

Liverpool’s goal in 14 minutes came after a cross from Jose Enrique reached Suarez whose shot was aided in by Leighton Baines.

Osman’s yellow carded fowl conceded a free kick and Steven Gerrard’s strike found Suarez who headed in his goal for Liverpool in the 20^th minute.

But Everton looked the better side at half time.

Liverpool aimed to start the second half on top as Raheem Sterling missed a clear shot at the Everton goal that left Suarez screaming for a pass.

Fellaini came closest for Everton after his shot flew wide. Seamus Coleman then surged into the penalty area but Skirtel did enough to keep Liverpool level.

A Baines free kick found Nikika Jelavic whose misfired header should have given Everton the lead.

Both sides could have produced more in the second half and will hope to improve in their next Premier league fixtures as Liverpool entertain Newcastle and Everton will travel to Fulham.

Heather Watson

British Tennis keeps getting better and better. 20-year-old Heather Watson is our new leading lady after she beat Taiwan’s Chang Kai Chen 7-5 5-7 7-6 (7-4) at the Japan Open.

Her victory means she takes Laura Robson’s position as Brit number one and is the first British woman to win a singles title since 1988.

Lollipop and I cheered on the Guernsey born player as she saved four match points and came back from 5-4 down in the third. Our champion stayed focused till the end and after said she had worked so hard for this moment her whole career.

And indeed she has. At the age of 7 Watson started to play the game that would make her a champion. And ever since she won the British Under 14 Championship and the Under 16s the following year she has continued to excel.

2012 was deemed to be Watson’s year when she beat world No. 52 Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic in her first singles win at Wimbledon in June 2012.

She then beat Jamie Hampton  of the USA, becoming the first British woman since 2002 to reach the third round of Wimbledon. But In her next  tie Watson lost to the third seed and eventual runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska.

When she bowed out in the first round of the US Open against 2011 French Open Champ Li Na and was forced to retire in the doubles tournament, Lollipop and I thought maybe her Wimbledon success would be her greatest achievement this year.

But of course she proved us wrong in Osaka as she sealed the biggest win of her career to date with a second match point in the tie-break.

The match was grippingly unpredictable and no wonder Watson deemed the Open win the best day of her life.

But will it make British tennis even more gripping?

Despite his loss to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic earlier today at the Shanghai Masters Final, Andy Murray is at his peak. As is his Olympic doubles partner Laura Robson and of course our champion Watson.

Tennis is definitely turning heads but whether it will continue into 2013 can’t be challenged just yet.

Whatever happens Lollipop and I will continue to follow the rise of WTA top fifty ranked Heather Watson.

 

 

Messi to Ronaldo

 

Who could choose between such two gifted goalscorers?

Lollipop and I were at odds during a classic El Clasico as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to keep play level at the Nou Camp.

Ronaldo struck first for Real Madrid but Messi clawed it back for Barcelona in the 33^rd minute after sloppy defending from the visitors.

Messi then fired again- this time from a curling free kick. Ronaldo was equal to it  as he scored five minutes later to clinch a draw.

It was his eighth goal in eight games against Barca and his 14^th in 11 appearances this season.

Where as Messi celebrated his 17^th goal in this prolific fixture.

Although Barca could have been 2 nil down in the opening half after Karim Benzema hit the post, the home side finished stronger as substitute Martin Montoya’s shot struck the bar.

But the draw does not prove anything as far as Lollipop and I are concerned, we’re still unsure who to crown champion. Ronaldo or Messi?

The 25-year-old Argentinean leads the 27-year-old Portuguese international in the El Clasico top scorers list – 17 goals to 10.

And since Ronaldo joined Real in 2009 he has scored 160 goals in 155 games. However in the same period Messi has 169 in 155.

The stats have clearly chosen the Barca forward.

But it was Ronaldo who saved Real Madrid tonight and Ronaldo who has scored the most this season. The draw ended Barcelona’s 100% league record this season. So it seems the Portuguese captain is the happier of the two tonight.

As the strikers continue to battle it out on Spanish soil Lollipop and I will watch in awe. So what if we’re undecided. The El Clasico rivalry just stages untouchable talent.