League Cup Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool

A Steven Gerrard penalty in the first-half was the difference between the two sides at the Etihad Stadium in the Carling Cup clash.Liverpool started off brightly and created the first chance of the game with some fine build up play before Andy Carroll found himself through on go only to be denied by Joe Hart after five minutes.The visitors continued to press and Hart was called into action on two more occasions following efforts from Steven Gerrard and Stewart Downing.However the deadlock was broken when Stefan Savic brought down Daniel Agger in the box, before Gerrard stepped up to slot the ball home from the penalty spot on 13 minutes.City looked out of sorts in the first-half but could and should have possibly equalised just before the break when James Milner fired his shot over the bar after some great work from Micah Richards. The home side looked brighter in the second half and could have equalised after Martin Kelly produced a poor back pass straight to Sergio Aguero but Pepe Reina was there to put the Argentina star off and his effort went over the bar.Just before the hour mark a Samir Nasri corner was well connected by the head of Micah Richards but again Reina was equal to it. City enjoyed more of the possession in the final 20 minutes but could not find a goal of their own and Liverpool held on to take a one goal advantage back to Anfield for the semi-final second leg.

Balotelli "Why Always Me?"

Goalkeeper Joe Hart admits life can be frustrating with Mario Balotelli but is convinced the striker now has his head "screwed on". Balotelli's remarkable propensity to create headlines on and off the pitch continued over the weekend after a domestic firework incident was followed by a devastating two-goal display in a 6-1 thrashing of Manchester United. The fire service were called to Balotelli's Cheshire home in the early hours of Saturday morning after a firework set off from inside the bathroom started a blaze. The Italian was forced to decamp to a hotel but the incident barely seemed to have ruffled him as he revealed a T-shirt saying 'Why Always Me?' after his first goal in Sunday's rout at Old Trafford. The 21-year-old rarely seems far from controversy despite earning praise for greater on-field maturity of late but, after six goals in five games, Hart is growing to love him. Hart told City TV: "I think we were all a bit unsure last season, outside and inside, what he was about. I think he has grown as a person and accepted who and what he is in this team. He is someone we look to. All the hype that comes with Mario is standard procedure. That is the beauty of football, that is what he is. "You get these characters and sometimes it is frustrating to be with him, but not so much this season. His head is really screwed on and we are all 100% behind him. I think everyone is delighted he is getting the right kind of love he deserves."

Balotelli Showboating Angers Mancini

Mario Balotelli’s failed trick shot sparked a heated row with manager Roberto Mancini that took the shine off Manchester City’s penalty shootout win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday. The Italian striker with a hot-headed reputation scored the only goal in normal time for City but was substituted by the time the teams went to a penalty shootout to decide the exhibition match. Mancini was incensed after Balotelli broke away on the Galaxy goal in the 28th minute and then turned backwards and tried to hit a ball into the net with the back of his foot. The ball went wide and Balotelli was subbed as soon as his replacement could warm up. “I think for the player, this can be a lesson,” Mancini said. “This can’t happen on a strong team. “I hope he understands that he needs to have good behaviour.” Goalkeeper Joe Hart scored the game-winning penalty kick as City beat the Galaxy 7-6 in a penalty shootout . Balotelli, who has been criticised before for his unprofessional antics, was replaced by James Milner. Once on the sidelines, Mancini and Balotelli got into it. Mancini appeared to motion for Balotelli to head to the locker room but Balotelli extended his arms, said something and then sat down on the bench where he slammed a cup to the turf and took off his jersey as he watched the rest of the half. He stayed in the locker room for the second half. Mancini told reporters after the match that the situation is under control and there is no need to take it any further. The temperamental Balotelli has a chequered past. Three months ago he got into a row with Manchester United players at the end of a FA Cup semifinal match. Balotelli had to be dragged away from the scrum that ensued after the Italian’s spirited victory celebration angered the United players. In March, Balotelli was investigated by the club after a claim he threw a dart at some youth-team players at the club’s training facility. Three months earlier, Mancini has to break up a fight between Balotelli and Jerome Boateng after Balotelli reacted angrily to a challenge by his teammate during a training session. The win over the Galaxy was the third straight for Manchester City in their North American tour. It went to the shootout because of the regulations of the World Football Challenge friendly tournament which the match is a part of. Hart stopped an AJ DeLaGarza’s penalty kick then stepped up to take his turn in the shootout after the teams battled to a 1-1 draw in regular time. Galaxy’s Mike Magee scored in the 53rd minute to tie it 1-1, hitting a perfectly place shot from outside the box that Hart couldn’t get to. “They’re a good team, so we knew it would be a good test for us,” City midfielder Milner said. “But that’s what you want for preseason, a good test, good fitness. All-in-all, it was a good game.” Manchester City used their starters for most of the game as the get ready for the upcoming Premier League season

England 2 - 2 Switzerland

England were held to a draw after surviving a major scare against Switzerland as they were forced to come from two goals behind to earn a point in the Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley.
Fabio Capello's out of sorts side looked to be heading for a damaging defeat and a heavy blow to their hopes of reaching Poland and Ukraine next summer as Switzerland deservedly took command.
Tranquillo Barnetta was the grateful beneficiary of uncertain England defending and poor goalkeeping from Joe Hart as he twice saw speculative free-kicks end in the back of the net in the first half.

Wembley was noisily registering its unrest with Capello and England when Johan Djourou's foul on Jack Wilshere gave Frank Lampard the opportunity to pull a goal back from the spot before the interval and provide the foundations for a second-half recovery.Capello mystifyingly left Ashley Young out despite a match-winning display in the Euro 2012 qualifier win in Wales in March and he only underlined the folly of the decision by emerging as substitute at half-time and striking a fine equaliser six minutes after coming on.

England should have capitalised on their growing momentum to win, but Darren Bent failed to reproduce the finishing touches that have brought him goals in three successive appearances. He was blocked by Diego Benaglio when he was played in by Wilshere then blazed over the top of an open goal late on after Young's shot was saved by Switzerland's keeper.Defeat would have been harsh on the Swiss, predictably well-organised under the masterly direction of veteran coach Ottmark Hitzfeld, and in midfield man Xherdan Shaqiri they have one of Europe's rising stars.

England have now gone four games without a win at Wembley, their longest sequence without a victory in 30 years, and still have much work to do to reach Euro 2012 as they prepare for a testing trip to face Bulgaria in Sofia in September.Capello watched in frustration as England defended poorly and failed to provide any ammunition or support for Bent until after the break - but he was the architect of his own problems.
The selection of James Milner ahead of Young was the product of muddled thinking and the absence of Peter Crouch - with 22 goals in 42 England appearances - from even the substitutes' bench was also a surprise.
Milner and Theo Walcott failed to justify their selection ahead of Aston Villa's Young as they struggled ineffectually in the first half, leaving striker Bent isolated and starved of supply as Switzerland looked the more composed and ordered team.

Glen Johnson almost gave England the perfect start after only two minutes when he met Lampard's corner at the far post but Switzerland keeper Benaglio spread himself to make the block.Hart's eventful half started when he saved smartly from Eren Derdiyok then scrambled to turn away Gokhan Inler's shot after it took a deflection off the outstretched leg of the recalled Rio Ferdinand.England's keeper was by far the busier and he was in action again to save from the industrious and intelligent Shaqiri as Switzerland grew in confidence.

Ferdinand's header was narrowly off target before Switzerland stunned Wembley with two goals in three minutes just after the half-hour to take command in a fashion that visibly infuriated Capello as he stood in his technical area.Capello had just been forced to replace Ashley Cole, injured in an early tackle on Valon Behrami, with Leighton Baines and the Everton defender could only watch as his defensive colleagues handed the initiative to the Swiss.Barnetta was the goalscorer on both occasions - with England twice demonstrating a costly inability to deal with routine free-kicks into their penalty area. The first was floated in and missed by Ferdinand, wrong-footing Hart as it landed in the far corner.

The second was even more calamitous, with the wall formed by Walcott and Milner breaking hopelessly and Hart reduced to an awkward attempt to kick Barnetta's effort away from his near post, an effort that ended in embarrassing failure.England were desperate for a lifeline before the interval and Djourou provided it after 37 minutes with a lunge at Arsenal team-mate Wilshere that resulted in a penalty, converted by Lampard.
Wembley reacted with jeers at half-time - and Capello's response was to replace Lampard with Young. The switch was rewarded within six minutes as Baines cleverly chested a chipped pass into Young's path and set up a low angled finish past BenaglioEngland's shape looked more comfortable and they were now in charge. Wilshere's wonderful run and pass sent Bent clear, but Benaglio plunged bravely at his feet to save.
Bent, so reliable in front of goal for England in recent games, was then guilty of an awful miss as he threw away the opportunity to complete the comeback with 20 minutes left. The lively Young's shot was saved by Benaglio to leave Bent with what looked like a formality in front of an open goal, but he side-footed his finish over the bar with the Swiss keeper stranded.Young's second half show only highlighted Capello's errors in selection and he almost got his second when he reached Milner's pull back, but could not trouble Benaglio.

As the game entered three minutes of stoppage time, both sides almost snatched the win. Substitute Admir Mehmedi was inches away with Hart beaten and Stewart Downing, on for Walcott, shot weakly into the side-netting with the last kick of the game as England had to settle for a point.