Liverpool’s new American era began in failure on Sunday in front of their latest owners with a 2-0 loss to Merseyside rivals Everton which sent them second from bottom of the Premier League.
John W Henry and Tom Werner were at Goodison Park to see Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta score in the 34th and 50th minutes, condemning the five times European champions to their fourth defeat from eight games this season.
Fernando Torres went closest for the visitors when his first-half header was turned over the bar by Everton keeper Tim Howard but Liverpool offered little else in another poor display.
They slipped one place in the table on goal difference, level on six points with Wolverhampton Wanderers and bottom-placed West Ham United.
Meanwhile, Henry’s New England Sports Ventures, owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, completed a takeover of the Premier League club on Friday after contentious legal battles with the previous U.S. owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The jubilant scenes in London on Friday concluded one of the most dramatic weeks in the 118-year history of Liverpool, one of England’s most famous and successful clubs.
Fans welcomed Henry and NESV after becoming increasingly outraged at Hicks and Gillett’s stewardship and fearful the club was weighed down by unsustainable debt.
Madrid top; Barca beat Valencia
Barcelona (Spain): Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain scored twice each as Real Madrid beat Malaga 4-1 to go top of the Spanish league, while Barcelona used a second-half surge to top Valencia 2-1 and keep pace with its main rival.
Ronaldo was instrumental in each Madrid goal, starting with his feed to Higuain for the opener after half an hour before he slotted Mesut Oezil’s pass into the empty net in 45th minute.
Madrid top; Barca beat Valencia
Barcelona (Spain): Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain scored twice each as Real Madrid beat Malaga 4-1 to go top of the Spanish league, while Barcelona used a second-half surge to top Valencia 2-1 and keep pace with its main rival.
Ronaldo was instrumental in each Madrid goal, starting with his feed to Higuain for the opener after half an hour before he slotted Mesut Oezil’s pass into the empty net in 45th minute.
Oezil was fouled inside the area to set up a 50th-minute penalty that Ronaldo blasted past goalkeeper Rodrigo Galatto for his league-leading sixth goal of the season.
Kris Stadsgaard pulled one back for Malaga in the 55th but Ronaldo slid a pass over to Higuain 10 minutes later for the striker to fire his fourth of the season past the outstretched Galatto. Madrid’s most convincing road win of the season bolstered it for its midweek Champions League match against AC Milan.
Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol led Barcelona’s rally as it joined Valencia with 16 points.
While Valencia keeper Cesar Sanchez frustrated Villa from his first opportunity in the 20th minute, the visitors enjoyed the better first-half and took advantage of Barcelona’s vulnerable defense in the 38th-minute.