Liverpool avenged their League Cup heartache as they condemned Manchester City to a third consecutive Premier League defeat with a 3-0 victory at Anfield on Wednesday.

City beat Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday but there was to be no repeat for Manuel Pellegrini’s side as Liverpool’s superior commitment and possession paid off on a bitterly cold night on Merseyside.

Goals from Adam Lallana, James Milner and Roberto Firmino left City’s title challenge in tatters and they now sit 10 points behind leaders Leicester, with even their top four place under threat from Manchester United, who are level on points with their rivals.

Yaya Toure’s calm spot-kick won the Wembley shoot-out for City, who were also indebted to goalkeeper Willy Caballero’s three penalty saves. But both were absent for this rematch, with Caballero resuming his place on the bench as Joe Hart returned for this critical match while Toure was absent with a foot problem.

Liverpool’s best player on Sunday had been Lucas Leiva, deputising in central defence, but he was missing on this occasion due to a thigh problem as Reds boss Jurgen Klopp made five changes. Daniel Sturridge was also sidelined, but any Liverpool fears about their attacking intent without the England forward were soon forgotten.

As a result of Liverpool’s switches, the home side looked much fresher than City. The Reds enjoyed far more possession as the first half progressed but City’s defence, led be the ever-impressive Vincent Kompany, refused to be cowed.

City produced few clear-cut chances as one Sterling effort flew into the Kop end but Liverpool then found another gear and set themselves on the path to victory.

After 33 minutes, Lallana had few options available from 30 yards out so decided to test Hart and his surprising effort snuck into the bottom corner. The goal caught Hart, and Anfield, unawares and was initially barely celebrated as few in the stadium knew it had settled in the back of the net.

SLICE OF LUCK

However, four minutes before the break there was absolutely no doubt that Milner had doubled the lead as he finished off a wonderful passing move to poke past Hart.

Seconds before the interval, Liverpool also got a slice of luck where Milner clearly handballed a Sergio Aguero header from a corner but it was missed by the officials. The incident was an indicator that it would be Liverpool’s night and they confirmed that after the restart.

A vocal and excited Anfield urged Liverpool forwards and Firmino was again at the heart of the action in the second half, pulling the strings against a City side that began to look increasingly ragged.

Liverpool’s freshness paid off again as Firmino capped off a superb passing move. Gael Clichy’s poor tackle allowed Lallana to pick the ball up outside the penalty area and his inch perfect pass found Firmino, who slotted into the far corner.

Liverpool continued to hunt for goals and Hart had to be at his very best shortly after the third goal. England midfielder Milner blasted goalward from 25 yards, but Hart did well to tip the effort wide.

City never gave any hint that they could fight their way back into the contest and Liverpool also took their foot off the gas towards the end because it was clear that the job was done.

But the loss is another hammer blow to City’s title ambitions this term and the inquest in the coming days about the manner of this defeat is likely to be loud and painful for Pellegrini.

English Premier League results:

Arsenal 1 Swansea 2

Liverpool 3 Manchester City 0

Manchester United 1 Watford 0

Stoke 1 Newcastle 0

West Ham 1 Tottenham 0

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Liverpool made a pre-tax profit of £60 million in 2014-15, the club announced on Tuesday (Mar 1), thanks largely to the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona.

Uruguay striker Suarez left Liverpool for the Camp Nou in a reported £75 million deal in July 2014, with then-manager Brendan Rodgers reinvesting the money in eight new signings and contracts for several players. Liverpool’s profit for the previous financial year had been just £900,000.

“We continue to make solid financial progress and reported growth in our commercial, media and match-day revenues, which continues to add strength to our financial position,” said chief executive Ian Ayre in a statement.

“Last year we saw a small profit for the first time in seven years, which demonstrated our recent progress. This year the profit reported has significantly increased, which is mainly a result of the sale of Luis Suarez in July 2014 and that has already been reinvested into the playing squad.

“Our real financial position is closer to break-even and it is the underlying revenue growth that’s important and provides us with the long-term stability.”

British press reports on Tuesday suggested that Jurgen Klopp, Rodgers’s successor, will be given substantial funds to spend in the 2016 close-season transfer window.

The announcement of 12 new partnerships and the opening of 180 new retail outlets around the world saw Liverpool’s commercial revenue increase by 12 percent to £116.3 million in 2014-15.

Media revenue rose from £100.9 million to £122.6 million, due in part to Champions League participation and runs to the FA Cup and League Cup semi-finals. Liverpool’s success in cup competitions helped match-day revenue climb by 15.9 per cent to £59 million.

Meanwhile, the accounts show that American owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) wrote off a £69 million loan by turning it into equity. FSG also invested £49 million in the expansion of Anfield’s Main Stand, which is due to re-open in time for the start of next season.

Liverpool are struggling to qualify for next season’s Champions League via the league and were knocked out of the FA Cup by West Ham United last month.

They reached the League Cup final, losing on penalties to Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday, and face Manchester United in the Europa League last 16.

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UEFA on Wednesday (Mar 2) banned Turkish champions Galatasaray from European competitions for one year for breaching spending rules.

The UEFA club financial control adjudicatory chamber ordered the ban after Galatasaray “failed to comply with the terms of the settlement agreement” made with the European body in May 2014, said a statement.

Galatasaray have spent heavily in recent years to buy the likes of Germany’s World Cup winner Lukas Podolski and Dutch star Wesley Sneijder. They have also been ordered to cut back on wages.

But UEFA referred the case to its tribunal in January after Galatasaray did not balance its budget for the 2015-2016 season as promised.

UEFA said Galatasary would be banned from European competition for the next season it qualifies in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons.

“The Turkish club has also been ordered to limit the overall aggregate cost of employee benefits expenses of all of its players in each of the next two reporting periods” for 2016 and 2017, UEFA said.

Galatasaray, who failed to get beyond the Champions League first round group this season and went out of the Europa League to Roma last week, said it hoped to be back in European competition after one year.

The team are having a poor Turkish Super Lig campaign and are currently in fifth place, outside even a chance to play in the Europa League next year.

Coach Mustafa Denizli resigned on Tuesday after just three months in the job.

“We will have to evaluate this very carefully,” Galatasaray general secretary Fatih Isbecer told the DHA news agency after the decision was announced. “We need to pay our penalty after winning the right this year to compete in Europe.

“We will continue to save money with our revised rationalisation plan. And in a year’s time we will again get ready our plan to be in the Champions League (for 2017/18). There is no need to be too pessimistic.”

UEFA implemented its financial fair play rules in 2011 in a bid to force clubs to balance their books. Every club in European competition is assessed and bans are the toughest sanction.

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Outspoken Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has courted controversy by claiming Gianni Infantino “bought” votes on his way to being elected president of FIFA.

Infantino was voted world football’s new chief on Friday, the 45-year-old Swiss-Italian lawyer ending Sepp Blatter’s controversial 18 years in charge.

Although Infantino has pledged to restore the battered image of FIFA, and despite his victory being widely applauded by key figures in the game, Zamparini cast doubt on whether the election process was fully transparent.

He claims doubts remain over the rise to power of the second-in-command at European football’s ruling body UEFA.

“The system doesn’t change and the new president of FIFA, the chief of bureaucrats, was part of it all before,” Zamparini is quoted as saying. “If he got elected, it’s only because he bought more votes than the sheikh (Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa).”

Blatter’s chequered history as chief of world football saw FIFA become embroiled in several cases of vote-buying corruption.

Infantino won last week’s election in the second round with 115 votes, from Asian football chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who received 88 votes.

Zamparini has built a reputation for speaking his mind since taking over the Sicily-based Serie A club in 2002, as well as firing coaches who fail to bring immediate success to the club.

He admitted his comments were likely to court controversy, but said he welcomed any future sanction. “I hope they suspend me for saying that: for me it would be an honour.”

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Atletico Madrid closed the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points with a routine 3-0 win over Real Sociedad on Tuesday (Mar 1).

A bright start from the hosts was rewarded when Diego Reyes turned Koke’s low cross into his own net after just eight minutes. Saul Niguez’s acrobatic volley doubled Atletico’s advantage a minute into the second-half before Antoine Griezmann’s penalty rounded off the scoring.

Barca can restore their eight-point lead when they travel to Rayo Vallecano on Thursday looking to set a Spanish football record by stretching their unbeaten run to 35 games.

Third-placed Real Madrid are now seven points adrift of Atletico ahead of their trip to Levante on Wednesday.

Buoyed by coming out on top against Real in the capital city derby on Saturday, Atletico started full of confidence and should have killed the game off before half-time.

The opener arrived when Koke’s dangerous low cross from the right caused confusion between Reyes and Geronimo Rulli and the Mexican defender shanked the ball into his own net.

Diego Godin should have made it 2-0 moments later when he blasted over Jose Maria Gimenez’s flick-on from Koke’s corner.

Rulli then redeemed himself with smart saves from Griezmann and Luciano Vietto, although in truth both strikers placed their shots too close to the keeper.

Atletico did finally get the second goal with the first attack of the second half as Vietto’s lofted cross picked out Saul’s late run into the box and his bicycle-kick had too much power for Rulli.

The only slight concern for Atletico boss Diego Simeone was the sight of Godin having to be replaced by Lucas Hernandez shortly afterwards, with the vital return-leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with PSV Eindhoven just two weeks away.

Griezmann was Atletico’s hero at the weekend and he won the chance to round off the scoring against his former club when he was tripped inside the area by Antonio de la Bella on the hour mark.

The French international dusted himself off to send Rulli the wrong way for his 21st goal of the season.

Griezmann was then also withdrawn with a meeting against Gary Neville’s Valencia on Sunday in mind.

Sociedad began to threaten for the first time in the match in the final half hour as Carlos Vela fired just wide before Jonathas headed against the post.

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Domenico Berardi and Gregoire Defrel scored in either half as Sassuolo stunned Lazio 2-0 in Rome on Monday (Feb 29) to boost their chances of European football next season.

Lazio welcomed Eusebio Di Francesco’s visitors looking to get back to winning ways after being held to a scoreless draw at Frosinone last week. But after a messy, rain-hit encounter that saw Lazio struggle for long spells, it was the visitors who were celebrating claiming their 10th win of the season.

Sassuolo, claiming their second successive win after last week’s 3-2 defeat of Empoli, broke the deadlock on 41 minutes when Berardi beat Etrit Berisha from the penalty spot after Defrel was felled by a clumsy challenge from Mauricio.

Lazio spurned a quickfire equaliser when Marco Parolo steered his header a foot wide from Lucas Biglia’s cross.

Lazio upped their efforts after the break, but it was Sassuolo who next came closest, Berisha doing brilliantly to stop Berardi on a one-on-one after being allowed to go clear by Mauricio.

Sassuolo gave Lazio a mountain to climb on 67 minutes when Defrel beat Berisha with a perfect finish after taking Nicola Sansone’s pass through the middle.

Lazio forward Felipe Anderson came off worse in a challenge and, along with German striker Miroslav Klose, was hauled off with 15 minutes remaining.

Stefano Mauri and Filip Djordjevic came on to try and salvage a share of the points but Lazio slumped to their 10th defeat of the season to remain eighth at 24 points behind leaders Juventus, who beat Inter Milan 2-0 on Sunday to boost their bid for a fifth successive ‘scudetto’, and four behind Sassuolo.

Sassuolo’s joy was tempered by seeing Berardi hobble off in the dying minutes with a suspected ankle injury after he went in for a challenge on Luca Biglia that left him kicking the Brazilian’s studs.

In Monday’s late match, Gonzalo Higuain claimed his 25th Serie A goal of the season as Napoli maintained their title push with a thrilling 1-1 draw at Fiorentina.

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Everton midfielder Muhamed Besic has signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract, the Premier League club announced on Monday (Feb 29).

Besic has been rewarded for some impressive displays since moving to Goodison Park from Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros in 2014.

The Bosnia international had already this season triggered a clause in his existing contract which entitled him to a 12-month extension by reaching 25 league appearances for the club, but Everton manager Roberto Martinez was keen to tie the player down to a much longer term.

It is more good news for the club in the wake of the weekend’s investment by Iranian billionaire Farhad Moshiri, who bought a 49.9 per cent stake in the Toffees.

“I’m really happy to have signed a new contract with a club such as Everton,” Besic told the club’s website. “After a year and a half with the club it makes me proud that they have given me a new deal.”

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