Sunderland vs Arsenal Highlights: EPL Highlights

England international Darren Bent fired title chasing Arsenal to a first defeat in 14 games as Sunderland battled their way to victory.

Bent struck 19 minutes from time to seal a tight contest after the Gunners had failed to make the most of the chances they enjoyed at the Stadium of Light.

Things might have been different had keeper Marton Fulop not denied Tomas Rosicky with a vital fifth minute save or had referee Alan Wiley pointed to the penalty spot after substitute Carlos Vela went down in the box in injury time.

But the Black Cats battled bravely all the way to the whistle to condemn the visitors to defeat for the first time since September 12.

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Liverpool vs Manchester City Highlights: EPL Highlights

Liverpool proved they are not likely to be replaced in the top flight elite by Manchester City just yet as Yossi Benayoun’s equaliser secured a draw at Anfield. The mega rich men from Eastlands arrived on Merseyside intent on proving they were top four material but they found it hard to overcome a determined Liverpool despite more injury problems.

Martin Skrtel put Liverpool in front but Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland sent City ahead before Benayoun equalised to share the spoils.

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Do international friendlies do more harm than good?

This weekend saw another round of international games, some important like the playoffs for the final positions at the World Cup, but all too many were unimportant games that counted for absolutely nothing t should the top players be excluded form playing in them to avoid injury?

I know that this brings up loads of potential problem like who do you classify as a top player etc. etc. but a lot of the time it is quite clear that some players are not needed and that as long as they keep their form up for their club they will play for their country.

International friendlies do have their place but that shouldn’t be just before Christmas when the fixture schedule is already tight and the next competitive international match is not until next summer. Friendlies should occur just before the competition when you know what players are fit at the time because there is a good chance there will be at least one injury that will cause a player not to make the World Cup.

Chelsea due John Terry and Frank Lampard both picked up injuries during their trip with England and Robin van Persie looks to be sidelined for 6 weeks after lasting only 10 minutes playing in a friendly for the Netherlands. These loses to Chelsea and Arsenal could put their title bids off track, which is bad enough for the supporters and club when they got injured in a game that mattered but injured in a friendly that could have been avoided makes the whole thing seem a little pointless.

The obvious answer to the problem is only to have international friendlies in the weeks before competitive games with the only other solution being a second string getting the call up in stead of the top players but ultimately these players still have clubs who need them fit to play so this only protects the big clubs and not the small ones.

I have never been a big fan of international football but I do understand the importance of it to players who want to represent their country but sometimes I feel a little more common sense needs to be adopted when arranging the fixtures of non-competitive international matches.

Written by Mark Ferguson, a sports writer who blogs about cheap football jerseys

Liverpool vs Birmingham Highlights: EPL highlights

Steven Gerrard’s controversial second-half penalty rescued a point for Liverpool but did little to lift the pressure on boss Rafael Benitez. Now it is just one win in nine matches for the Reds and they must be grateful for the two-week international break which will allow the dust to settle on their faltering season. It had started so well for the Reds with youngster David Ngog firing them into an early lead. But Ecuadorian Christian Benitez’s nodded equaliser and Cameron Jerome’s thunderous 30-yarder put Birmingham ahead at the break. And only a hotly-contested penalty which TV replays showed should not have been awarded as Lee Carsley made no contact at all with Ngog with his attempted tackle gave Liverpool their lifeline, Gerrard drilled home the spot kick.

Highlights:(this is the best quality for the time being, HD qulity wil be updated soon)

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