Liverpool re-open the title race with a massive win at United; Arshavin stars as Arsenal batter Rovers

Manchester United 1 - Liverpool 4 (Premier League, March 14, 2009) (Longer highlights here, MOTD highlights here.) After 20 minutes United took the lead over Liverpool, Pepe Riena took out Park in the box and Cristiano Ronaldo expertly converted from the spot. But the Reds drew level from a rare mistake by Nemanja Vidic, the Serb failing to cut out a long put forward that allowed Fernando Torres to nip and make no mistake sticking the ball past Van der Sar. The turnaround was completed two minutes before the break after Torres slipped a ball inside Evra for Steven Gerrard, the Frenchman fouled the Liverpool captain in the box and Gerrard stepped up and placed his penalty in the corner. (First half highlights here.) United pressed for an equaliser after the break but 15 minutes from time all their efforts went to waste. Vidic was dismissed for hauling down Steven Gerrard when clean through, and from the resulting free-kick Fabio Aurelio silenced the home crowd with a stunning left-footed curler into the top corner. And Liverpool ended the match in style, a long punt from Riena flew the length on the pitch and Andrea Dossena latched onto the ball to majestically lob Van der Sar and empty out Old Trafford early. United’s lead is now down to four points over Liverpool.

Arsenal 4 - Blackburn 0 (Premier League, March 14, 2009) (MOTD highlights here.) Arsenal needed just 70 seconds to breach the Rovers defence, Bendtner played Theo Walcott through in the inside right channel and the youngster crossed to Andrei Arshavin at the near post who was heavily involved as the ball crossed the line. Morten Gamst Pedersen had Blackburn’s first chance but his looping header was tipped to safety by Manuel Almunia. At the other end Samir Nasri was unlucky not to score after seeing a free-kick strike the bar and then Robinson pulled out a point blank save in a second effort. Walcott and Bendtner both came close after the break, and then Arsenal fans finally saw Andrei Arshavin strut his stuff to perfection, the Russian magician weaved his way in from the left hand side along the dead-ball line before firing high into Robbo’s net from an acute angle. And Arshavin, who was fantastic in the second half, set up a late third for Emmanuel Eboue, and Eboue bagged claimed a late brace with an injury time penalty. (Second half highlights here.)

Middlesbrough 1 - Portsmouth 1 (Premier League, March 14, 2009) (MOTD highlights here.) Peter Crouch salvaged a botched corner routine with a superb volley from the edge of the box to give Pompey a halftime lead. But Boro, down to 10-men after Matthew Bates’ dismissal, denied the visitors a huge three points as Marlon King stole a last minute equaliser.

Hull 1 - Newcastle 1 (Premier League, March 14, 2009) (MOTD highlights here.) Hull took the lead on nine minutes after Geovanni’s thumping header, but a great volley from Steven Taylor earned the Magpies a point.

Sunderland 1 - Wigan 2 (Premier League, March 14, 2009) (MOTD highlights here.) The Latics took the lead in the 12th minute, as a long ball down field from keeper Chris Kirkland was latched onto by Ben Watson, who fired into the bottom corner for his first goal for the club. Sunderland got back on level terms four minutes before the break, as Grant Leadbitter latched onto a Kenwyne Jones flick-on before poking the ball into the back of the net. Wigan though got back in front as Charles N’Zogbia scored in first half injury time.

Bolton 1 - Fulham 3 (Premier League, March 14, 2009) (MOTD highlights here.) Fulham won their first away game of the season. Andy Johnson set them on their way on 41 minutes, although his goal was quickly equalised by Kevin Davies on the stroke of halftime. (First half highlights here.) But goals from Simon Davies and substitute Diomansy Kamara saw Fulham run out comfortable winners in the second half (highlights here).

Everton 3 - Stoke 1 (Premier League, March 14, 2009) (MOTD highlights here.) Jo stuck the Toffees ahead in the 18th minute when, after a quick one-two with Fellaini. Just six minutes later, Joleon Lescott doubled the lead following Sorensen’s failure to keep hold of Tim Cahill’s headed effort (First half highlights here.) Ryan Shawcross got his head on the end of Liam Lawrence’s corner to pull a goal back for Stoke but Marouane Fellaini got Everton’s third in the 90th minute, finding the ball inside the area before turning his marker and hitting a deflected shot into the back of the net. (Second half highlights here.)

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Doncaster 0 - Birmingham 2 (Championship, March 14, 2009) Cameron Jerome fired the Blues into the lead with precise header after 19 minutes. Hameur Bouazza chalked up the Blues second just before the break after a poor mistake in the Donny defence.

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Hibernian 1 - Hearts 0 (SPL, March 14, 2009) Hibs struck first in the Edinburgh derby with Hearts, Steven Fletcher had a large slice of luck as his looping header gave the hosts a 14th minute lead.

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Athletic Bilbao 2 - Real Madrid 5 (La Liga, March 14, 2009) Arjen Robben and a Gabriel Heinze header gave Real a 2-nil lead after 34 minutes before Heinze put the ball into his own net and Fernando Llorente nodded past Iker Casillas to make it 2-2 at the break. Bilbao’s Fran Yeste was shown a straight red for shoving Casillas to the ground in the aftermath of Heinze’s own goal. Klaas Jan Huntelaar then squeezed a shot in at Gorka Iraizoz’s near post early in the second half before Huntelaar raced on to Robben’s pass and lifted the ball over the Bilbao keeper with just under half an hour left. Gonzalo Higuain wrapped up the win for Real from the penalty spot.

Valencia 1 - Recreativo Huelva 1 (La Liga, March 14, 2009) Valencia and Recre played out a goalless first half at the Mestalla. (First half highlights here.) Javier Camunas broke the deadlock in favour of the visitors, netting his second goal this season against Los Che after starting and finished a one-two through the home backline. Carlos Marchena was them dismissed for the hosts but against the odds Pablo Hernandez pulled Valencia level in the 83rd minute with a beautiful chip.

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Juventus 4 - Bologna 1 (Serie A, March 14, 2009) Juve fell behind at home to Bologna after the visitors tore through the home defence and Massimo Mutarelli finished expertly. After the break Hasan Salihamidzic brought the Old Lady level with a header from Giovinco’s corner. Juve went on to seize the initiative with two quick-fire goals from Sebastian Giovinco and Alex Del Piero. Del Piero wrapped up the superb second half comeback with a fourth at the death.

Cagliari 0 - Genoa 1 (Serie A, March 14, 2009) There was a heart in mouth moment when Marchetti was knocked out when trying to claim a cross. Genoa stole the points at the death thanks to a late header from Ruben Oliveira.

Vicenza 0 - Albinoleffe 3 (Serie B, March 14, 2009)

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Hertha Berlin 1 - Bayer Leverkusen 0 (Bundesliga, March 14, 2009) League leaders Hertha once again had Andriy Voronin to thank for heading their charge for the title, the Liverpool loanee played a neat one-two into the box and then rode his luck as his saved shot deflected off his chest into the net.

Bochum 0 - Bayern Munich 3 (Bundesliga, March 14, 2009) Bayern moved ahead just after the half hour in Bochum through a fabulous left-footed belter from the evergreen Ze Roberto. The hosts then shot themselves in the foot as Pfertzel saw red in the 48th minute and Philip Lahm added a trademark second, cutting in from the left and finishing with his right, to double Bayern’s lead. Martin Demichelis capped off the win with a late third.

Eintracht Frankfurt 1 - Hoffenheim 1 (Bundesliga, March 14, 2009) Hoffenheim broke their recent inability to score by taking a 10th minute lead at Frankfurt after Carlos Edwards broke into the box and lifted the ball past Nikolov. The hosts levelled early in the second half, Michael Fink running unmarked into the box and powering home a header.

Hannover 4 - Borussia Dortmund 4 (Bundesliga, March 14, 2009) Alexander Frei got back amongst the goals scoring from the spot at Hannover to give Dortmund a 17th minute lead. And the visitors were soon 2-up after Florian Kringe fired in a clinical second. Jiri Stajner pulled a goal back with a near post header from a corner. The comeback was complete immediately after the interval, Arnold Bruggink heading home a corner at the near post. But Dortmund restored their stranglehold on the match with two quick goals from Kringe and Frei (a stunning strike). Hannover though refused to lose, and they fought their way back to a point with dramatic late goals from Hanke and Mikel Forssell.

Cologne 2 - Monchengladbach 4 (Bundesliga, March 14, 2009) Michael Bradley scored from close range to give Gladbach the lead in Cologne, and the visitors doubled their lead when Karim Matmour was freed through the middle and he rounder the keeper to score. Miso Brecko fired Cologne back into the game with a shot that moved heavily from right to left. But hope of a comeback were snuffed out after Rob Friend grabbed the visitors’ third. Brecko then completed his brace to again give the hosts’ hope, only for Michael Bradley to kill the game off with a fourth for Gladbach.

Karlsruhe 0 - Arminia Bielefeld 1 (Bundesliga, March 14, 2009) Zlatko Janjic came off the bench to claim a crucial 86th minute winner for Bielefeld in their fight for survival.

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Bordeaux 2 - Nice 1 (Ligue 1, March 14, 2009) Marouane Chamakh put Bordeaux in front only for Habib Bamogo to pull Nice level from the spot. Carlos Henrique’s header ealy in the second gave the hosts the points.

Monaco 3 - Toulouse 2 (Ligue 1, March 14, 2009) Toulouse took the lead at the Stade Louis II through Andre-Pierre Gignac but Monaco made sure it was level at the break thanks to Frederic Nimani. Toulouse were again ahead when Mauro Cetto pounced just after the hour but again they could not hang onto the lead as Francois-Joseph Modesto levelled. Then, in injury time, the Principality side won it through Igor Lolo.

Sochaux 2 - Nancy 1 (Ligue 1, March 14, 2009) Ryad Boudebouz fired the hosts ahead with a shot that bypassed an unsighted Bracigliano in goal. Youssouf Hadji drew Nancy level with a scruffy deflected shot, but Sochaux took the points after Vaclav Sverkos swept home a second half winner.

Valenciennes 3 - Le Havre 2 (Ligue 1, March 14, 2009) The visitors went ahead through Peter Franquart but goals from Jose Saez and Jonathan Lacourt gave Valenciennes the lead. Kevin Anin then looked to have given Le Havre a point when he scored ten minutes from time, but in injury time Johan Audel won it for Valenciennes.

Nantes 1 - Lorient 1 (Ligue 1, March 14, 2009) Guirane Ndaw gave Nantes the lead after 25 minutes and it looked like being the home side’s day when Lorient missed a second-half penalty. But Jeremy Morel fired a superb equaliser from 20-yards after 77 minutes to earn the visitors a share of the points.

Caen 0 - Lille 1 (Ligue 1, March 14, 2009) Lille climbed above Rennes into fifth, the winner came on the hour with Michel Bastos grabbing the goal.

Le Mans 2 - Rennes 2 (Ligue 1, March 14, 2009) Thorstein Helstad and Gervinho had put the hosts in the driving seat, but Rennes turned the match around in the second half and Kembo Ekoko reduced arrears before Moussa Sow rescued a draw in stoppage time.

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Willem II 0 - Twente 2 (Eredivisie, March 14, 2009) Twente extended its unbeaten run to 17 games, as goals in each half from Blaise Nkufo and Marko Arnautovic secured victory against a Willem II side who this week were forced to shut their youth academy due to financial worries.

Heerenveen 5 - Sparta 1 (Eredivisie, March 14, 2009) Danijel Pranjic scored from the penalty after 25 minutes, before Sparta had two players, Kim Jaggy and Ruud Knol, dismissed. The Frisians did not add their second goal until 73 minutes when Patrick Ingelsten doubled their advantage. Roy Beerens then scored another penalty before Sparta grabbed a consolation through Edouard Duplan. But Heerenveen were not finished as they added two further goals with Michal Svec and Bonaventure Kalou scoring.

Vitesse 0 - NAC 3 (Eredivisie, March 14, 2009) After Nourdin Boukhari kept up his recent goascoring exploits to give NAC the lead, Anthony Lurling added a second at the start of the second half. Csaba Feher’s diving header sealed a superb away win.

Heracles 1 - Volendam 1 (Eredivisie, March 14, 2009) Melvin Platje gave Volendam the lead with just 20 minutes left, but Heracles found an equaliser through Jan Wuytens in the final minute.

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Ankaragucu 0 - Sivasspor 2 (Super Lig, March 14, 2009) Second half goals from Yildiz and Kamanan downed Ankaragucu.

Besiktas 3 - Genclerbirligi 0 (Super Lig, March 14, 2009)

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Benfica 0 - Vitoria Guimaraes 1 (Superliga, March 14, 2009) Roberto gave Vitoria a surprise win at Benfica.

Sporting Lisbon 2 - Rio Ave 0 (Superliga, March 14, 2009) Sporting Lisbon closed the gap on Porto to a single point, Joao Moutinho and Fabio Rochemback did the damage against Rio Ave, who also had Bruno Mendes dismissed on the stroke of halftime.

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Rubin Kazan 3 - Kuban Krasnodar 0 (Russian Premier League, March 14, 2009) Aleksandr Bukharov proved the hero for the reigning champions, side-footing home smartly after 25 minutes before turning provider seven minutes later for Sergei Semak to score. Bukharov broke away to add a third ten minutes into the second half.

Dinamo Moscow 1 - FC Moscow 0 (Russian Premier League, March 14, 2009) There was a dramatic end to the Moscow derby as Aleksandr Kerzhakov won the match with an injury time header.

Lokomotiv Moscow 1 - Khimki 1 (Russian Premier League, March 14, 2009) Khimki led on 27 minutes when Serbian defender Miodrag Jovanovic sent a bullet header past Marek Cech, but twenty minutes into the second half Denis Glushakov levelled proceedings for Lokomotiv, striking home from the edge of the penalty area.

Amkar Perm 0 - Rostov 0 (Russian Premier League, March 14, 2009) Amkar defender Zahari Sirakov and Rostov’s North Korean midfielder Hong Yong-Jo were both shown second-yellow cards in an otherwise uneventful curtain-raiser to the Russian season.

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Aris 0 - Xanthi 1 (Greek Super League, March 14, 2009) Victor Agali’s stunning 81st minute strike was the difference between the side.

AEK Athens 1 - OFI Crete 0 (Greek Super League, March 14, 2009) Blanco’s cross was only palmed out to Kafes who was on hand to convert the rebound.

Larissa 0 - PAOK 0 (Greek Super League, March 14, 2009)

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Polonia Bytom 0 - Ruch Chorzow 3 (Ekstraklasa, March 14, 2009)

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Partizan 2 - Cukaricki 0 (Serbian Super Liga, March 14, 2009) Goals in each half from Juca and Tomic  gave Partizan the three points.

OFK Beograd 2 - Red Star Belgrade 2 (Serbian Super Liga, March 14, 2009) OFK went into the break in high spirits after Jevtic claimed a first half brace. Red Star then had Silva dismissed after 50 minutes, but the Serbian powerhouse still had enough in their locker to draw level with goals from Koroman and a last minute equaliser from Milijas.

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Apollon 2 - Ethnikos 1 (Cypriot First Division, March 14, 2009)

APOEL 4 - APEP 0 (Cypriot First Division, March 14, 2009)

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Botev 0 - Levski Sofia 1 (A Grupa, March 14, 2009)

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Gamba Osaka 4 - Iwata 1 (J-League, March 14, 2009) Yasuhito Endo converted a 36th minute penalty before Gamba new boy Park Dong-hyuk made it 2-nil in the 55th minute. Gilsinho pulled one back from the penalty spot two minutes later, but Endo restored the hosts’ two-goal lead with his second spot-kick of the game. Leandro completed the scoring for the Asian champions four minutes later.

Urawa Red Diamonds 3 - FC Tokyo 1 (J-League, March 14, 2009) Yuki Abe, Edmilson and Robson Ponte each struck a goal apiece to hand the Reds their first win of the season.