The goal I am picking this week for goal of the week is Dejan Stankovic wonder goal for Inter Milan in their 5-2 home defeat against Schalke in the Champions League. It was the opening goal of the game and what a goal it was.
A long ball over the top from Esteban Cambiasso to find Diego Milito, but the Schalke ‘keeper Manuel Neuer came running out to header the ball; the ball found Stankovic on the halfway line who hit it 1st time and it floated into the back of the net.
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Can Fergie complete a double this weekend? His horse What a Friend is 11/1 to win the Grand National. Make sure you don’t miss out on the biggest betting event of the year!
In the show this week. Reading Reporter Jonny Fordham joins West and Williams in the studio too talk about all things Reading FC.
We start with the pre-season tour of Slovenia, We ask Jonny what he made of the trip, Who stood out and what is his opinion of young players like Jake Taylor and Michail Antonio.
West askes is the squad strong enough to make it back to the Premiership? this time around and we also discuss the in’s, out’s and rumours that circle the club at the moment.
This weeks big question is. Would you swap Ingirmason and Gunnarson for Khizanishvili?
Plus we take a look at the contenders for the N-Power Championship title.
All this and more on this weeks Reading Football FanCast
Click here to listen to the Podcast
Thanks to- Jonny Fordham www.Get-Reading.co.uk
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Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has criticised the FA for double standards in regards to their appeal on Wayne Rooney’s behalf.
The Manchester United striker saw his three-match suspension for getting sent off for England against Montenegro reduced by one game after an appeal to Uefa on Thursday, which means he can feature in the final Euro 2012 group stage fixture with Ukraine.
The Scottish coach feels that the governing body has used double standards, especially as they claim to be making example of offenders in the game in England.
‘I find it a bit strange the FA are supposed to be setting an example for things yet they appeal against Rooney’s three-match ban,” Dalglish is quoted as saying in The Telegraph.
”It’s not as if it was a 50-50 challenge. I don’t how they justify diluting it and don’t think it sets a very good precedent for everybody else,” he stated.
The FA have hit back with a statement of their own, defending their decision to work on Rooney’s behalf.
”To promote speed and consistency, stakeholders in England agreed a standard formula encompassing a fixed penalty sanction should be applied across the game by The FA,” the statement reads.
”The system has been in operation for many years and meets the demands of the domestic game.
”The FA’s system allows clubs to make a claim of wrongful dismissal – to reduce a sanction to zero – or appeal the severity of a sanction, both of these processes are dealt with prior to the player’s next fixture.
”Uefa chooses to operate a different process for European matches, based on a sliding scale, under which each sanction is determined individually by a disciplinary panel.
”In any event a minimum one game ban will always be applied by Uefa.
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”This process meets the demands of Uefa football where the period between fixtures is greater than that in the domestic game,” it concluded.
With only 3 points separating Wigan Athletic in 20th place in the Premier League table to Blackburn Rovers in 13th, the race for survival is still well and truly on and it has left us fans scratching our heads over which three teams will be the ones to suffer the dreaded R word – Relegation. In my article last week on Aston Villa’s relegation threat if they lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers (which they did), the attention has now focused on Newcastle United joining the scrap for survival.
The Magpies were hammered 4-0 at Stoke City last weekend and the manner in which the team conceded the goals with some woeful defending and mistakes by key players must’ve left Alan Pardew wanting to tear his hair out on the touchline. The defeat means that the Toon Army have only won one game in their last 10 and although they currently sit in 11th place, they are just 6 points ahead of Wigan and 4 points from Wolves in 18th place who fill the last relegation spot.
When the club sold striker Andy Carroll on transfer deadline day back in January there were predictions of the club getting relegated as the club had no time to sign a replacement striker or at least spend money on the squad. Newcastle have been hovering around mid-table for most of the season and Carroll still sits 4th in this season’s top goal scorers list with 11 (joint with Kevin Nolan).
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It’s obvious that Newcastle have missed Carroll up front having to rely on the likes of Peter Lovenkrands, Leon Best, Nile Ranger and Shola Ameobi. But the Magpies have been without Carroll for longer than when he was sold to Liverpool due to his thigh injury, however Newcastle proved they can win without him with a 1-0 win at Wigan and a 5-0 hammering of West Ham at the start of the year in which Best scored a hat-trick.
Despite the shock defeat away to Stevenage in the FA Cup that followed, the team bounced back once again at home to Arsenal after being 4-0 down at half-time, coming back to draw 4-4 and showing tremendous team spirit in the process. It showed in the next two games with two clean sheets after a 0-0 draw at Blackburn and a 2-0 victory away to Birmingham City.
It’s key to point out that despite their current record of one win in the 10 games, a fair few of them have been draws. However, manager Alan Pardew has admitted that his team are part of the large relegation fight with 8 games of the season remaining and has stressed that his team need to get over the finishing line as quickly as possible.
Their next game is at home to Wolves, a six pointer that Villa found themselves in last weekend but with the international break it will allow Pardew and his team to get rid of any mistakes on the training ground. Out of the 7 other remaining fixtures, Newcastle play four teams below them, which they hope to win if they don’t want to be dragged down the table, with the other three fixtures against Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
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Whilst we are focusing on Newcastle, let’s not forget that Fulham in 12th on 35 points can’t be overlooked as part of the relegation scrap. Mark Hughes’ men are higher up on the form guide than most teams below them but some back to back defeats over the remaining games could be devastating for whichever team are within reach of the dreaded drop zone.
With last season’s title race going right down to the wire with Chelsea edging it over Manchester United by a single point every game counted towards the title. This summer has seen a distinct lack of major transfer activity from either club with Chelsea having something if a mini-exodus and bringing in only Yossi Banayoun, while United have made two additions, in Chris Smalling and a certain diminutive Mexican who’s already grabbed a few headlines with the most bizarre Wembley goal since Emile Heskey’s last one. The question is are the new signings enough to bring the trophy back to Old Trafford, just what do United need to do to wrestle the title back from West London and is Dimitar Berbatov ever going to revert back to his headband? Here’s a list of ten things which need to happen for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men to overtake Liverpool in the title winning stakes.
1. More goals from midfield. While many a United fan is quick to point out the deficiencies of Berbatov and even Ferguson has lamented the injury to Michael Owen that robbed United of his services for the business end of the season, the fact remains the midfield did not score nearly enough goals last season. Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Antonio Valencia, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nani managed 24 league goals between them, the same amount that Frank Lampard scored. While certain players –Fletcher for example- are not in the side to score goals, while Giggs and Scholes can hardly be expected to hit double figures at their age- it is still obvious United need more goals coming from the midfield department. If Rooney continues to operate as a lone striker –as he did for much of last season- then someone behind him needs to step up. Personally I’d like to see Nani and Valencia weighing in with a few more this time round.
2. A bit more stability in the starting XI. I fully understand that with United chasing honours on four fronts, the need for a large squad and a bit of rotation but surely it’s time for a little moderation. It seems every week there’s a new right back, its 4-5-1 then it’s 4-4-2, Berbatov starts, grabs a goal, then is dropped for the next game, Anderson’s in, then he’s out again, ditto Ji Sung Park. Admittedly injuries and the ages of certain players have to dictate Fergie’s thinking and the days of the man on the street naming the Saturday’s starting XI are long gone. However it could be time to give some players more than just one game in every three, and try and get a bit more cohesion going between certain ones. I’ve said it before and it may sound crazy but unless Rio Ferdinand can get back to proper full fitness, I’d make Jonny Evans and Nemanja Vidic my starting centre backs for every game. Stability has often been the key to United’s success and maybe a bit more is needed.
3. Give youth a chance. With Tom Cleverly not going out on loan, and the Da Silva twins and Macheda getting a chance both at the end of last season and in this pre-season then could we now see a few youngsters starting more than just the Carling Cup games? Hopefully yes. If United are not going to buy Mesut Ozil- to be honest I don’t think they will- then why not give either Darron Gibson or Cleverly the chance to have a run in the side. After all despite what a certain Scottish pundit may have claimed you can win things with kids. United have bags of experience in every department so throwing one or two youngsters into the mix shouldn’t lead to disaster and what better way for a developing player to learn than to play alongside the likes of Scholes, Giggs or Rooney.
Continued on PAGE 2
4. Darren Fletcher to raise his game. At first this may seem blasphemous, after all ‘super Daz’ was one of United’s best performers last season, putting in the sort of barnstorming displays you’d associate with Roy Keane. However the reason I think he should raise his game is simple- because he can. While there’s no denying against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, Fletcher bosses the midfield so much he even had Arsene Wenger complaining of his ‘anti-football’- so basically tackling people then- but against lesser opposition Fletcher can occasionally be a little less influential. I know it seems harsh to criticise such a dedicated player but let’s be brutally honest, there are times when his passing can go awry a little too often, and despite what I said earlier about him not being in the side to score goals that doesn’t mean he can’t. His brace against City and his superb volley – or should that be superlative strike- in the home game against Everton show that Fletcher knows where the goal is. I know he’s quality I just feel that if he were to perform against the likes of Sunderland as he does against the top teams, he could well be the difference between second and first.
5. Michael Carrick. This one doesn’t need a Fletcher-type apology or explanation, it’s shockingly simple. He’s got to start performing consistently. Carrick’s been at Old Trafford for four seasons now yet amazingly the jury still seems to be out on him. Three title winning campaigns would be enough to put most players in the pantheon of club legends but Carrick has a knack for going missing when he’s needed most and sometimes making costly errors. The games against Wolves away and Liverpool and Bayern Munich at home were cases in point. While Carrick’s mistakes in the first two may have been academic his failure to deal with the danger in the Champion’s League, then getting caught dilly-dallying on the ball, cost United two goals, and to some critics the tie. While I think there was more to it than just Carrick, the fact that he was dropped from the United side after his similar blunder gifted Liverpool an early Old Trafford lead, may mean that Fergie is running out of patience with a player who should now be hitting his peak not going backwards. If he doesn’t perform well at the beginning of the campaign, I feel it’s time to give someone else a chance.
6. Beat their title rivals. Ok this may sound like the sort of obvious statement you would associate with David Pleat but it’s true. The past two seasons have seen United lose home and away to their nearest rivals. In 2008-09 they got away with it mainly due the fact that by the time Liverpool came to Old Trafford and won 4-1, the title race was all but over. Last season however, even a draw in either game against Chelsea would have been enough to see United win the title for a record breaking nineteenth time but it wasn’t to be. United have usually performed well against their title rivals and there’s no doubt that a man has proud as Ferguson will be looking to regain that tradition this season. Winning against your rivals doesn’t just give you a points advantage it can often help psychologically convince you that you’re the better team and it’s time United took the edge on both counts.
7. Believe the hype and give Chicharito a proper run. I’ve tried not to get over excited about Javier Hernandez, but it’s been about as difficult as liking Ashley Cole as the ‘Little Pea’ shone in both the World Cup and United’s pre-season. Whether he’s banging in screamers against Argentina or using his teeth in the Community Shield, it’s obvious that he’s class and rather than wrapping him up in cotton wool or saving him for special occasions like the nice china, Fergie should unleash him and let him stake a claim for a regular starting place. He’s been compared to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, which is a bit unfair, but if he is going to be another ‘baby-faced assassin’ then he should at the very least be an obligatory substitute coming on after 60 minutes in every game.
Continued on PAGE 3
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8. Improve the atmosphere at Old Trafford. Whether United have money or not chanting and singing is still free- mind you give it time and they’ll probably charge us- so there’s no excuses for having a lack of noise at Old Trafford. United still have the highest attendance in the League, yet at times away fans of a mere few thousand are out-singing 70-odd thousand Reds. ‘We want Glazers out’ is one chant that seems to be heard without any problems but it’s hardly likely to motivate the team. While I’m not saying that shouldn’t be sung, I’m merely stating that the fact remains personally I’ve been a bit embarrassed by the lack of atmosphere at OT at times and think a bit more noise wouldn’t go amiss. United may have only dropped eight home points last season, but if they can get the sort of atmosphere you hear against City going every week, then there’s every reason to feel they won’t drop any. This isn’t something the club should be culpable for, it’s up to the fans and don’t worry I’ve brought plenty of vuvuzelas back from South Africa so message me and I’ll send you one.
9. Take the burden off Wayne Rooney. Sounds simple doesn’t it? It’s a bit like saying score more goals than the opposition or win more games than your nearest rivals, but the fact is, United cannot win the title with Rooney alone. When Cristiano Ronaldo was scoring goals like they were going out of fashion, a large part of that was down to Rooney. Last season Didier Drogba had Lampard to help him out, Arsenal will no doubt have Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas this time round. Rooney needs someone to weigh in with not just their fair share of goals but also assists and being another option that players look for when United are attacking. Berbatov, Hernandez or one of the midfield, it doesn’t matter but when Rooney’s fit and playing it shouldn’t mean that if he has a quiet game so do United. When Rooney’s out, it’s time for someone else to perform; no doubt all eyes will be on Berbatov who came up short against Chelsea and Blackburn last season. Whether or not this will be the Bulgarian’s season remains to be seen, but someone needs to give ‘r Wazza a hand.
10. Play Edwin Van Der Sar in every league game. VDS performance in the Community Shield was yet another in a long list of exemplary shifts between the sticks at Old Trafford. The Dutchman was injured for the beginning of last season and Ben Foster was preferred to Tomas Kuszczak and all but ended both his United and England career with a series of inept displays. A loss away to Burnley and a disappointing home draw to Sunderland came on Foster’s watch, while Kuszczak oversaw the home loss to Aston Villa and the away loss to Fulham- although to be fair the entire defence was injured for that one. Van Der Sar may be 40 but if he can manage the league games and Fergie rests him for the cup ones, he may just be the difference between another near-miss or making United the most successful ever team-at least domestically- in England.
After the arguments have died down (for now) between the British Football Associations and the existence of a British Olympic Football team has been announced, with the men’s team manager predictably named as Stuart Pearce, the next decision to be made (though not for some time) is who will represent Great Britain in the squad. Previous rules suggest an 18-man squad, with 15 players under-23, or more precisely, born after 1st January 1989. Three players over 23 can also be named, which opens up selection options vastly. That is where the contentious issues may arise, and how David Beckham’s name will continue to appear in newspapers on a daily basis for the next year.
So who would I pick? Well it’s not easy. And it of course depends on how a number of players perform and develop over the season. Whilst the Scottish, Welsh and NI FA’s may have vetoed such a team, they cannot block the like of Gareth Bale or Aaron Ramsey appearing, so I have chosen using the full list of British players.
So here are my picks for the squad, which like the actual squad will still probably have a heavy English bent to them:
Goalkeepers:
Not an easy choice, as there is not an obvious choice. The best option I can think of is Ben Amos (Manchester United). Not hugely experienced, though he has played in the Champions League (once).
Declan Rudd (Norwich) – not an area of expertise for me, but seems best option on the surface, and as I will say a lot during this article, will be excellent experience for him to be involved.
Defenders:
Phil Jones – ridiculously over-hyped as the new Duncan Edwards and a future England captain as soon as he moved to Manchester United, but another easy selection, and would be good experience for him. Much depends of course on how much action he sees over the summer for the senior squad, but my guess would be not very much.
Kyle Walker – fast-improving defender, excellent going forward, and has now broken into senior squad, keeping Micah Richards out. Named in the summer’s U21 European Championship Team of the Tournament despite the poor showing of the England team as a whole
Jonny Evans – representation for Northern Ireland. Takes an over-23 slot, and has been slated at times this season, but obviously has plenty of top-level experience, and each country should be represented in team in my opinion.
Micah Richards – the best English right-back on current form, so we might as well use him, as Fabio Capello clearly has no intention of. Sadly just too old to fit in the 15 U-23s, so he goes in as one of the oldies. A waste of one of those three spots? Maybe, but he is desperate for international football, and I think he deserves it – unless of course Capello changes his mind and he features for England.
Martin Kelly – Liverpool defender who has broken through to first team, and looks an excellent prospect. Makes the squad right-back heavy, but he is known to prefer playing at centre-back so gives team options.
Danny Wilson – with the squad not over-blessed with options at left-back, Wilson gets the nod, another Liverpool youngster signed from Rangers, who has already represented the senior Scotland team five times, and can also deputise in the centre of defence.
Midfielders
Aaron Ramsey – will be 21 next summer. A box to box midfielder who continues to improve. Will surely feature heavily, fitness permitting.
Gareth Bale – the man today spuriously linked with a £35m bid from Barcelona in January is a no-brainer of a selection, and seems better suited in midfield rather than as a marauding left-back.
J. McEachran – will be 19 next summer. A left-footed central creative midfield player who has had occasional chances in Chelsea’s first team, he looks a good prospect.
Jack Rodwell – talked about as the next best thing for years now, and continuously linked with a megabucks move to Manchester United, I am yet to see just what the fuss is about, or where his best position is, but what do I know? Obviously has talent to burn, and could be a good stepping stone for his development.
Oxlade Chamberlain – early days in his Arsenal career, but again looks a good prospect. A perfect Olympic team choice.
Barry Bannan – seemingly out of form and now suspended too following a drink-driving arrest, this is not a time to be “bigging up” the player. But he has impressed me more than any of his team-mates when I have seen him play at the Etihad Stadium, and would add a great deal to the midfield.
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Continued on Page TWO
Strikers
Daniel Sturridge – 22 next summer, another easy option. Often underwhelming at Manchester City, he grew as a player whilst on loan at Bolton. Has shown excellent form for Chelsea this season (the odd game apart), and seems to be developing as a player nicely.
Danny Welbeck – 21 next summer. Will he feature in the senior squad? Will probably make squad, which you could argue should exclude him from Olympic squad, but can’t see him getting too much time on the pitch in Poland or Ukraine.
Wayne Rooney. The last over 23 pick, and why not? It’s not as if he’ll have a full schedule for the senior squad over the summer. And his selection would annoy Alex Ferguson, so it ticks all the boxes. But then is it fair to take that spot away from a promising youth player who might benefit more from the experience? I can’t decide.
Marvin Sordell (Watford) – staked a claim with a goal-scoring performance for the U21 team this week. His goal-scoring record is hardly sensational this season, but has managed to establish himself in the Watford side, and another year to develop could see an exciting player make the squad.
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Connor Wickham – the Ipswich prodigy now at Sunderland cost £8m, a sign of how highly-rated he is. A knee injury has stalled his progress for now, but looks to have a bright future. Might be one striker too many in the squad though.
So there you are. Perhaps my approach is totally wrong. How about Plan B? – no selection for players who make the summer senior squad, irrelevant of minutes on pitch. Selecting a squad is not easy at all – perhaps the better option is to really go for youth and pick less high-profile players – to aid their development and to give them experience of international competition. It will be an experience none of them will ever forget after all. Also, for the over-23 slots, use the rule (as most will) and pick very experienced players, rather than a few players just too old to feature in the original 15 – perhaps the likes of Craig Bellamy, or even Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher. Personally I’d love to see Kevin Phillips!
I don’t envy Stuart Pearce deciding, that’s for sure – perhaps the solution will involves numerous dialogues with clubs and players to discover which players want to go most, and which clubs are flexible at allowing their players to miss a pre-season for possible Olympic glory.
Either way, here’s a provisional starting XI:
Amos
Richards, Jones, Evans, Collins
Chamberlain, Rodwell, Ramsey, McEachran, Bale
Sturridge/Rooney
And the other options?: Henri Lansbury, Nathan Delfouneso, Emmanuel Frimpong, John Flanagan, Chris Smalling, James Forrest, and many more – the list is plentiful…..
Premier League action kicks off again starting at Upton Park where the Hammers play host to top-of-the table Red Devils. Whilst the last visit of United to East London ended up in a 4-0 defeat knocking them out of the Carling Cup, many feel that this game will be a great chance for United to increase the chances of winning the Premier League title.
Scott Parker is doubtful for West Ham after picking up shoulder and calf knocks during the international break for England, but will be expected to start for what is a crucial game considering how close the bottom half of the table is.
However, Avram Grant’s team are 6th in the Premier League form table and have only lost 1 in their last 7 games at Upton Park. Although despite the victory over United in the Cup, the Hammers have suffered 5 defeats to Alex Ferguson’s side in their last 5 attempts without scoring a single goal.
United will be without Jonny Evans and Paul Scholes (both suspended) and despite several players on the sidelines through injury, captain Nemanja Vidic returns in defence which will be a huge boost.
Considering the home side’s recent run of form, this game is tougher to call than the league table states. West Ham have scored 15 times in their last six games and they January signings have been a huge boost to their attacking play.
However, with Vidic returning to the United backline, even an in-form Hammers attack may struggle to hit the back of the net too many times in this game. West Ham will certainly put up a fight, and maybe scrape a draw but United win (probably in dying minutes) looks likely.
Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Manchester United
Watch Jason Cundy & Scott Minto on Scoreboard and see their pre-match predictions
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New France coach Laurent Blanc has sensationally suspended all 23 players that were on duty at this summer's World Cup finals in South Africa.
The 1998 world champions were placed into disarray when the squad staged a walk-out after striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home after an incident at the interval during the 2-0 loss to Mexico.
France failed to qualify from Group A under former boss Raymond Domenech and the players' behaviour appalled many back in their homeland.
Blanc will take charge of his first game against Norway in Oslo on August 11 and the former Bordeaux manager recommended that the full squad should not feature, a plea that was accepted by the French Football Association.
A statement on www.fff.fr read:"Laurent Blanc met this Friday, July 23, with the federal council, to whom he presented his staff and his sporting project.
"He also proposed to the federal council, who accepted, not to retain for the friendly against Norway, on Wednesday August 11 in Oslo, any of the 23 players officially selected by the French Football Federation for the World Cup in South Africa.
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"Laurent Blanc will release the list of players retained for this match against Norway on Thursday August 5 at 11.30."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Manchester City maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a close fought 3-2 win over QPR at Loftus Road to preserve their five point leave over rivals United at the top of the Premier League.
Roberto Mancini’s have walked over teams at times this season but were far from their best and were made to sweat in West London as Rangers produced a performance worthy of ending City’s undefeated streak. Neil Warnock’s side were superb as they brought the Manchester millionaires crashing back down to Earth with arguably their best home display of the season in a game where the odds were stacked firmly against them. Their cause wasn’t helped by the absence of mercurial midfielder Adel Taarabt and hard man Shaun Derry. On the flip side the visitors boasted a legion of international stars with the inform David Silva deployed in a devastating attacking trio alongside Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero. However they, along with the rest of the City side, struggled to contain the R’s as they came straight out of the traps from the first whistle.
Heidar Helguson threatened twice early on giving the City defence a few jitters before Jay Bothroyd opened the scoring just before the half hour rising highest to power home a header from Joey Barton’s superb free kick delivery. Instead of resting on their laurels the home side continued in the same vein with Jamie Mackie’s long range effort forcing Joe Hart into a save with Helguson’s headed follow up ruled out for offside. Bothroyd then came close to doubling his tally striking the post with a low effort and it proved costly as the visitors woke the away side up from their slumber to equalise two minutes before half time. Dzeko, earlier denied by a superb block from Anton Ferdinand, got the better of him taking James Milner’s pass in his stride before finishing past Paddy Kenny.
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They could have led at the break after Aguero struck the post from 25-yards but that late revival gave City the imputes in the second half and it wasn’t long before they took the lead through the majestic Silva on 52 minutes. The Spaniard controlled Dzeko’s pass brilliantly before hammering the ball past Kenny as the game started to swung in their direction. Despite that Ranger’s continued to endeavour forward and were rewarded for their persistence with an equaliser on 69 minutes with Bothroyd’s header from Armand Traore’s cross striking the back of Helguson to wrong foot Hart and send the Loftus Road crowd wild. Still it was only a matter of time before City scored a third and it duly came 14 minutes from time through their midweek hero. Yaya Toure had scored twice against Villarreal in the Champions League on Wednesday and was at it again to secure all three points for Mancini’s men rising highest to power Aleksander Kolarov’s cross in to make sure City go into the international break unbeaten and clear at the Premier League summit.
Club Brugge were held 2-2 at Standard Liege and Lierse and AS Eupen fought out a 1-1 draw in Sunday’s Belgian First Division action.Brugge, fourth on the table, missed a golden opportunity to narrow the gap between themselves and the top three – all of whom drew this weekend – when they conceded two late goals to Liege.Croatian midfielder Ivan Perisic put the visitors ahead in the 68th minute, and when Nigerian striker Joseph Akpala made it 2-0 eight minutes later Brugge seemed certain to move within three points of third-placed Gent.But Mohamed Tchite gave the hosts reason to believe with an 85th-minute strike, and Mehdi Carcela stunned Brugge with a second goal in stoppage time to snatch a share of the points for Liege.Elsewhere, relegation battlers Lierse and AS Eupen managed a point apiece in their encounter.Lierse’s South African midfielder Lance Davids cancelled out Argentinean attacker Pablo Chavarria’s second-minute goal with one of his own 10 minutes into the second half.