England 1 Ghana 1

Ghana Black Stars on Tuesday earned a deserved draw when Asamoah Gyan's 90+1-minute goal cancelled Andy Carroll's first in the first half in a historic clash with the Three Lions of England at Wembley.

England kicked-off strongly and appeared set to drown Ghana in goals as the Ghanaians looked lethargic and lost many of the 50-50 balls, apparently as a result of their long flight from Congo Brazzaville less than 48 hours earlier.

In the third minute England earned a free-kick from the left but Young wasted it. It was the turn of Ghana in the seventh minute when Gyan's shot at goal was saved by Hart the goalkeeper of England. England came close to scoring when a combination among Baines, Milner and Young ended with Young blasting the ball over the bar. Just after that Adiyiah meandered his way through the Defence of England but once again Hart blocked his shot at goal.

By the 13th minute the Stars settled and strung a number of passes together but the Three Lions took the ball from them. Young slipped past Vorsah and sent a curling shot toward the top corner of Ghana's goal post but Kingson palmed it away.

In the 16th Ghana earned a free-kick about 30 yards from the goal line of England but Muntari's shot flew over the bar. Ghana mounted pressure on England and during a goal mouth melee Cahill had to stretch to head the ball away.

In the 22nd minute Gyan took a shot from 40 yards but Hart palmed it down. England came close to scoring in the 25th minute when Young hit the crossbar having received a low cross from Milner. Ghana earned a free-kick in the 27th minute. Muntari's kick was connected by Adiyiah but Hart in a reflex action palmed it away. On the 30th minute mark, England earned a free-kick 25 yards out but Downing kick landed on top of the net.

Ghana virtually captured the midfield and strung together about 20 passes and Wembley erupted with excitement.

Disaster struck for Ghana when in the 43rd minute Downing set up Carroll to simply thump left-footed into the bottom corner of Ghana's net to put England 1-0 up at half time.

Ghana got the second half started but England soon took over. Johnson was replaced by Lescott and this appeared to have improved the game of England. Jagielka mistakenly gave the ball to Gyan but he wasted the opportunity.

By the 50th minute Ghana had again taken control of the mid-field and imposed their type of play on England. Badu burst through the middle but was stopped by Cahill just as he was about to deliver a shot at goal in the 56th minute.

Paintsil's shot in the 59th minute was deflected over the bar. Ayew came in for Muntari and Carroll was replaced by Defoe on the hour mark.

In the 62nd minute Kingson was called upon to save Milner's shot at goal. Gyan broke through the England Defence in 69th minute but his shot hit the side netting.

Javis came in for Wilshare in the 70th minute and Milner was booked for a savage tackle on Gyan. The resultant free-kick was wasted.

Ghana mounted a siege on England in the dying embers of the game and in the 90+1 minute Gyan scored for Ghana after twisting and turning through a bunch of England players and expertly placed the ball into the corner of the net beyond the reach of the outstretched hands of Hart.

Braga 1 - 0 Liverpool

Liverpool face a test to keep their Europa League campaign alive after they were beaten by Braga in the first leg of their last 16 tie.The Reds went behind when Sotirios Kyrgiakos clumsily fouled Mossoro and Alan stepped up to power in a penalty.Braga's Silvio struck the crossbar with a 30-yard piledriver as the visitors struggled to provide any danger.Andy Carroll had a shot deflected wide and Dirk Kuyt had a strike tipped over in Liverpool's best chances.Carroll had come on as a late substitute in Sunday's win over Manchester United as he made his Liverpool debut with a cameo appearance having been out with a thigh injury since his £35m move from Newcastle in January.
Reds boss Kenny Dalglish resisted the temptation of starting him against Braga but when the 6'3" striker did arrive on the scene after 58 minutes, despite lacking match fitness, he immediately helped shift the impetus in Liverpool's favour.
The home side's defender Kaka escaped a red card for what appeared a deliberate elbow on Carroll as the two went up for a header in injury-time before the Portuguese side again proved they had the beating of British opposition at the Estadio Municipal.
Braga are sixth in their domestic top flight and 31 points behind leaders Porto but have shown the capacity to raise their game when the mood takes them.
On home territory, they beat Celtic 3-0 in a Champions League qualifier and defeated Arsenal in the group stages of the competition before dropping into the Europa League.
Their latest conquest at their stadium in northern Portugal ended the national record 18-match winning streak of Benfica with a 2-1 victory on Sunday.
The emphasis was on Braga to make the most of their home advantage as Liverpool started with a cagey and and conservative approach.
The visitors' strategy worked for only 17 minutes until Reds centre-back Kyrgiakos found Mossoro's pace and skill too much to deal with and brought down the Braga midfielder to concede a spot-kick.
Alan, one of seven Brazilians in the Braga side, expertly powered in from 12 yards, despite Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina diving the right way.
The Reds were struggling to find any rhythm or resonance to their passing and were only saved from going further behind when the woodwork came to their rescue.
An unmarked Mossoro should have done better than to slice a shot when a free-kick was squared to him 12 yards out but the ball was cleared to Braga left-back Silvio, whose spectacular 30-yard strike crashed back off the crossbar.
Liverpool's frustration only grew as lone striker Kuyt found the offside trap of the home side difficult to beat as he failed to hold up the ball and bring his team-mates into the game.
A lot was made of Arsenal failing to get a shot on target in their demise against Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Tuesday and Liverpool were not faring much better at the less illustrious Braga as they had a tame header to show for their first-half efforts.
Kuyt needed support and it came just before the hour mark in the form of Carroll and he did not take long to make an impact.
The towering striker quickly nodded a header across goal which was just out of the reach of Kuyt before having a left-foot shot deflected wide as Carroll's arrival changed the complexion of the game.
With support, Kuyt was a different proposition and he chested down a Raul Meireles cross before a half-volley was tipped over by Braga keeper Artur.
That proved to be as close as Liverpool were to get to a prized away goal and, although Braga might have been reduced to 10 men after Kaka appeared to elbow Carroll, the Reds suffered a first defeat in 14 European games.

Liverpool 2 Stoke City 0

Luis Suarez scored on his Liverpool debut as the Reds began their post-Fernando Torres era by beating Stoke.
Potters keeper Asmir Begovic's reflex save kept out a Glen Johnson header but Raul Meireles drove in a 47th minute shot to put the home side ahead.
John Carew had a strike which went wide before Suarez rounded Begovic and saw his shot go in despite Andy Wilkinson's attempt at a sliding interception.
Reds keeper Pepe Reina saved from Jon Walters as Liverpool secured victory.
On a day when the giant Torres mural on the outside of the stadium had been removed, inside Anfield Suarez provided enough evidence after his 63rd minute introduction that the Reds faithful might have another hero to appreciate.
The Uruguayan's goal in front of the Kop 16 minutes after coming off the substitutes bench helped the Reds to a third consecutive league win, while the home side also kept a clean sheet in as many matches.
Ahead of the game, fellow new forward signing Andy Carroll, who is sidelined with a thigh injury, also came on to the pitch to a rapturous ovation as the new arrivals gave a glimpse of the future.
The present team, meanwhile, went about the business of trying to prove their worth without Torres.
Dirk Kuyt took the Spaniard's place in spearheading the attack as manager Kenny Dalglish opted to play a three-man central defence of Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger to combat Stoke's physical aerial danger.
However, it was Liverpool's threat in the air which almost gave them the lead when a glanced Kyrgiakos header from a Steven Gerrard corner was cleared from the goalmouth by ex-Red Salif Diao.
Tony Pulis's side heeded the warning and showed a degree of comfort as their hosts struggled to break them down before the Merseysiders warmed to their task and exerted some pressure towards the end of the first half.
Liverpool wing-backs Martin Kelly and Johnson combined with the former crossing for the latter to cushion a header which Begovic kept out with an impressive save.
An unmarked Kuyt flicked another header disappointingly wide and, when the hard-working Dutchman was not clinical enough after being found by a nodded Gerrard pass or when turning and shooting from the edge of the box, it was hard not to think of the departed Torres.
That was until 47 minutes when a long range Gerrard strike came off the Stoke wall and, after Potters centre-back Robert Huth tackled Kyrgiakos, the ball fell to Meireles to steer in a shot for his third goal in four games.
Carew, making his full debut for Stoke, sent an effort across goal narrowly wide as the visitors were forced to attack before £22.7m signing Suarez made a goalscoring start to his Anfield career.
A Kuyt flick released Liverpool's new number seven on goal and, although Wilkinson got a boot to the striker's shot, he could only help it into the net off the post.
Reina had to keep out a Walters shot to maintain a clean sheet for the home side as the Reds revival continued ahead of the visit to face Torres and his new club Chelsea on Sunday.

Liverpool sign Andy Carroll from Newcastle

Liverpool have signed striker Andy Carroll from Newcastle for a fee in the region of a club record £35m.
"Andy Carroll has completed his move from Newcastle to Liverpool and has signed a five-and-a-half-year-deal," read a Liverpool statement.
The 22-year-old will wear the number nine shirt vacated by Fernando Torres, who has sealed his move to Chelsea.
Carroll has scored 11 goals in 19 league games this season and made his full England debut in November.
Newcastle confirmed that Carroll's transfer request was "reluctantly accepted" on Monday afternoon, and his move was finalised shortly before the transfer deadline (2300 GMT).
Liverpool have also signed Ajax striker Luis Suarez for £22.7m fee, but recouped about £50m of their transfer-day spending by selling Fernando Torres to Chelsea.
Academy graduate Carroll played a key role in the Magpies' promotion from the Championship last season and had continued to shine since being handed the club's number nine shirt during the summer.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew had repeatedly stated that the player was not for sale but the club's owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias has tried to bring a financial realism to the club during their time at the helm.
Carroll is currently out of action with a torn thigh muscle which has kept him sidelined for the last five games and which prompted his visit to a specialist in Sweden on Friday.

Andy Carroll on Merseyside for LFC talks

ANDY CARROLL has arrived on Merseyside to discuss personal terms on his £35million move to Liverpool.

The player's exit from St James' Park has left Toon fans stunned on transfer deadline day and United have been left to scramble for an incoming new face in the final few hours of the transfer window.

Carroll's move is expected to be completed in time for the 11pm deadline providing a personal package can be agreed.

The player had returned from a specialist in Sweden with the go ahead to resume training this week but his next game is likely to be in a Liverpool shirt.

Carroll had started the day as a Toon player and checked into the training ground as normal.

But as the pace of deadline day picked up and Liverpool upped their bids for the star, he was whisked to Merseyside for talks in dramatic fashion.

Liverpool want Andy Carroll as a replacement for Fernando Torres

Liverpool are believed to be interested in acquiring the services of Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll as a replacement for Fernando Torres, who has been widely reported to be on the verge of joining Chelsea.

According to The Sun, the Reds will move in on the young forward with a £30 million bid and a triple-your-wages offer to prise him away from the clutches of the Tyneside outfit.

Carroll has made a seamless transition from the Championship to the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in the process. And the 22-year-old also made his debut for the senior England squad in an international friendly.

Liverpool have also been linked with deadline day moves for Aston Villa winger Ashley Young and Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam.