Liverpool Defeated Manchester City 3 - 2

Dirk Kuyt scored his first Barclays Premier League goal since November to secure a dramatic victory for Liverpool.

The Holland striker rattled the ball home in stoppage time to stun 10-man Manchester City.

The home side had raced into a two-goal lead in the first half through Stephen Ireland and Javier Garrido.

Fernando Torres pulled a goal back before City's Pablo Zabaleta was sent off.

The momentum was then with Liverpool with Torres adding a second before Kuyt had the final word.

“I’m really pleased with the result, though I’m disappointed for Martin with his injury,” Benítez said afterwards. “The positive thing was the reaction of the players after a bad first half. We made two mistakes for both goals, but the reaction and character we showed in the second half was key to winning the game. It is better for me if we don’t concede those goals, but if you can win, it shows that the players are ready to win every game. Physically we are in good condition, so credit to our fitness coach. We also have great belief and mentality.”

“We had spoken at half-time about the likely response of Liverpool,” Hughes said. “We needed to be ready for it and we weren’t.”

Manchester City Bags Robinho for £32.5 Million from Real Madrid

Manchester City Bags Robinho for £32.5 Million from Real Madrid
City trumped Chelsea's pursuit by completing a four-year deal worth 32.5 million pounds (C$62.2 million) to eclipse the 31 million pounds (C$59.3 million) Andriy Shevchenko cost the Blues' Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich in 2006. Manchester City were successful and set a new British transfer record in the process.

Having completed his astonishing £210 million takeover of Manchester City, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan delivered a swift challenge to Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea — and the rest of football’s elite — with audacious bids for some of the world’s best players.

"It's been one hell of a day," said Hughes. "It's a huge statement of intent. A lot of credit has got to go to Dr Thaksin (Shinawatra, the club's current chairman and owner) for being able to bring the Abu Dhabi company to the table and this huge investment that is going to go forward. They wanted to present something to the people of Manchester and they have been able to do that. It's a fantastic signing for us. If we're going to get to the places we want to get to we are going to have to compete against outstanding teams. We have to attract world-class players and that is what we have done. He is an exceptional talent and opposition teams are going to fear him," he added.

Chelsea was so sure of signing the player that it had angered Madrid last week by briefly offering for sale shirts bearing his name. Madrid rejected Chelsea's initial 32-million-euro (C$49.8-million) bid.

The 24-year-old Brazil forward had long looked set to join Chelsea and his former international manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, but City seems to have done fierce rival United a favour by stopping Robinho from joining the Blues.

City's improved financial status also suggests that it will compete from now on with the likes of super-rich Chelsea, which enjoyed a huge edge in recent years because of the backing of Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

Manchester City will get to unveil their Brazilian superstar on Sept. 13 by playing with Chelsea. Add that to the fact that City just added Shaun Wright-Phillips, who debuted this past weekend with two goals and will get his own shot at his former team when the two clubs square off.

Manchester City Secured £30 Million Loan

Manchester City have secured a £30 million loan against future television revenue to support Mark Hughes in the transfer market, amid continuing uncertainty over the future of their owner, Thaksin Shinawatra. City’s financial position is in doubt while Thaksin’s assets remain frozen in Thailand.

The former Prime Minister of Thailand has had his assets frozen after refusing to face corruption charges in his homeland, meaning his £800million are of little use at present. The club have played down the significance of a loan that is designed to ease cashflow difficulties and allow Mark Hughes to strengthen his depleted squad.

The manager is desperate to sign a left back, a midfield player and a striker before the transfer window closes on September 1, having failed with a £12 million bid for Roque Santa Cruz, the Blackburn Rovers forward, last week. Diego Milito, of Real Zaragoza, remains a target after Hughes’s urgency for a striker increased on Sunday when Valeri Bojinov ruptured his Achilles tendon during the warm-up before the 4-2 defeat away to Aston Villa, meaning that five of the club’s forwards are injured while a sixth, Jô, is on Olympic duty with Brazil.

Good news has been in short supply at City lately, with defeat at Villa Park preceded by an embarrassing 1-0 loss at home to FC Midtjylland in a Uefa Cup qualifying match, but the club hope to dispel some of their supporters’ anxiety in the coming days by signing at least two new playes and securing the long-term future of Michael Johnson, the England Under-21 midfield player, who is looking for an improved contract, having attracted interest from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton this summer.