3-5-2 FOOTBALL

Premier League: Chelsea 2 – Liverpool 1 Chelsea maintained just 2 points behind the Premier League leader after sending Liverpool to fifth position in a match at Stamford Bridge yesterday. The 2-1 victory was enough for Jose Mourinho to ensure their title challenge is still on the right track. John Terry became the fourth player in history to have played 600 games for the Blues. Martin Skrtel 's close-range finish gave Liverpool a third-minute lead, but Chelsea's response was swift and decisive. Man-of-the-match Eden Hazard curled home a fine goal to equalize in the 17th minute, before Samuel Eto'o got a toe to a low cross from Oscar that Simon Mignolet could only help into the net 11 minutes before halftime. It was a second successive defeat for Liverpool after their 2-1 loss at Manchester City on boxing day. Source: Chelsea FC

SEA Games 2013: Malaysia 2 - Vietnam 1 Malaysia qualified to the 2013 SEA Games semifinal after defeating Vietnam in a very close match at the Zeyer Thiri Stadium in Myanmar. Vietnam needed a win to earn a spot in the last four dominated possession but failed to break the never say die Malaysian squad. Goalkeeper Mohd Izham Tarmizi was at his best to deny all Vietnam's attempts. Both team went into the break tied 0-0. Vietnam came back into the second half hunting for the winning goal. They keep the pressure on Malaysia most of the time. However, Malaysia shocked the Vietnam's camp in the 82nd minute when Ashri Chuchu found the net. It was a relief for Ong Kim Swee 's squad who needed just a draw to qualify for the semifinal stage. The goal killed Vietnam's spirit and Malaysia raised their game. D. Saarvindran doubled the lead from a solo effort in the 89th minute to put Malaysia in a better position. Vietnam got a consolation goal after 4 minutes into the

SEA Games 2013: Malaysia 4 - Laos 1 Ahmad Hazwan Bakri scored a hat-trick and helped Malaysia to cruise with a convincing 4-1 victory over Laos at Zayar Thiri Stadium in Naypyitaw yesterday. Malaysia opened the scoring in the 6th minute from through Ahmad Hazwan effort but failed to display a good performance in the first half. Laos equalised in the 40th minute when K. Reuben headed a Souk Aphone Vongchiengkham free kick into his own net. Both sides were tied at 1-1 until the break.   The Young Tigers returned to the pitch with improved characters. Ahmad Hazwan found the net again 5 minutes after the restart. Laos fell further against the rising Tigers when Ketsada Souksavanh scored an own goal in the 79th minute.   Just eight minutes later, Ahmad Hazwan completed his hat-trick when he tapped in a low Nazmi Faiz cross to give Malaysia a comfortable 4-1 vistory. Ong Kim Swee is happy with the determination shown by his players, especially in the second half. However he

SEA Games 2013: Malaysia 2 - Brunei 0 Malaysia opened their SEA Games 2014 campaign with a win over Brunei in Myanmar today.  The defending gold medalist missed an opportunity to get an early goal after Rozaimi Abdul Rahman failed to head in from a free header in front of Brunei's goal. Not long after that Brunei came back threatening the Malaysian defence as Adi Said missed two golden opportunities. Malaysia missed another chance when unmarked Izzaq Farris shoot right to the leg of Brunei's goalkeeper. However, the Young Tigers finally took the lead in the 30th minute. Irfan Fazail long pass found Rozaimi who beat the off-side trap to score Malaysia's first goal. Malaysia held on to maintain the score at 1-0 until the break. Brunei came back in the second half with a better showing. They missed another opportunity four minutes after the restart. Malaysia's defence looked shaky in the absence of Junior Eldstal . The Young Tigers doubled their lead in th

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY: MALAYSIA 3 - FC RYUKYU 1 The Malaysia Under-23 squad had a perfect motivation ahead of the Myanmar SEA Games after defeating FC Ryukyu 3-1 in their final friendly match at the Kelana Jaya Stadium last night. The visitors stunned the home crowd with an opening goal from Shunta Takahashi in the 14th minute. The Young Tigers tried to find the equaliser but they couldn't find the right tune. FC Ryukyu led 1-0 at half-time. Malaysia came back into the second half with a stronger attitude. Captain Irfan Fazail and Nazmi Faiz played a perfect combination in the midfield, and Thamil Arasu grabbed an equaliser just two minutes after the break heading in a cross from K.Reuben . Ong Kim Swee 's boys started to dominate the game. In the 51st minute, Mohd Rozaimi Abdul Rahman found the net to put Malaysia in front with 2-1. FC Ryukyu players seem too exhausted for a comeback after the goal. Rozaimi got his second for the night late in the injury time