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London, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Liverpool suffered a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday, its third loss in the span of a week. The Reds were on the wrong end of a 1-0 result at Newcastle in league play last week and followed the match with a disappointing 1-0 loss to Real Madrid in Champions League action on Tuesday. The bad times continued on Saturday as Diego Costa netted the winner at Anfield to mount some additional pressure on manager Brendan Rodgers. Saturdays affair started brightly for Liverpool as the hosts managed to break the deadlock in the early going. A well-worked move in the ninth minute allowed Emre Can to find space at the top of the penalty area and uncork a shot that took a massive deflection on its way past Thibaut Courtois. Chelsea, though, got back on level terms just five minutes later when a chaotic sequence in the box culminated with Gary Cahill sweeping a loose ball toward goal from close range. It appeared as though Simon Mignolet had done enough to deny the visitors an equalizer, but goal line technology revealed that Cahills shot had narrowly crossed the line. While the two sides traded scoring chances for the remainder of the opening period, the second half was controlled largely by Chelsea. The visitors eventually got their noses in front in the 67th minute when Cesar Azpilicueta found space on the left flank and sent a dangerous ball across the face of goal. Mignolet managed to parry the delivery but only as far as Costa, who smashed a first-time effort into the back of the net. Liverpool had a penalty shout in the 88th minute when Steve Gerrards shot was blocked by Cahills outstretched arm, but the infraction went unnoticed as Chelsea escaped with all three points in tact. The result sees the Blues continue their unbeaten start to the season as Jose Mourinhos men improve to 29 points through 11 matches. Liverpool, meanwhile, stays put on 14 points. Southampton kept pace with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table as the Saints battled to a 2-0 victory over Leicester City at St. Marys on Saturday. The hosts were made to wait until the 75th minute for the go-ahead goal as second-half substitute Shane Long broke the deadlock with a superb curling effort. Long then doubled Southamptons advantage just five minutes later when he latched on to a ball over the top and slipped a shot into the back of the net at the near post. The Saints improve to 25 points on the season to stay four points back of Chelsea while Leicester City drops its fourth straight to remain on nine points. Manchester United dictated play at Old Trafford on Saturday but only managed to come away with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. The lone goal came in the 67th minute when second-half substitute Juan Mata fired a shot that took a deflection on its way past Julian Speroni at the near post. The Red Devils were content with the narrow lead and closed out the match to snap their three-game winless run and move to 16 points. Manchester City avoided an embarrassing defeat at Loftus Road on Saturday as Sergio Agueros double helped the Citizens salvage a point from a 2-2 draw with QPR. The hosts grabbed the lead through Charlie Austin in the 21st minute only to see a brilliant bit of skill from Aguero draw City level 11 minutes later. An own goal from Martin Demichelis put QPR back in front 14 minutes from time, but Aguero ensured a point for the Citizens in the 83rd by latching on to a superb long ball from Yaya Toure and curling a precise left-footed shot into the back of the net. Ashley Barnes netted the lone goal in Bunrleys 1-0 defeat of Hull City, the clubs first win of the campaign. West Ham United and Aston Villa completed Saturdays action with a 0-0 draw at Upton Park. JERSEYS CHEAP WHOLESALE . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. WHOLESALE HOCKEY JERSEYS CHINA . - The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is set to ask a judge to throw out allegations that she lied to a grand jury. http://www.nflchinajerseyscheapwholesale.com/. Despite 11-1 records, theyre out and Big Ten winner Ohio State is into the national semifinals. CHEAP NIKE NFL JERSEYS . The seventh-ranked Berdych wants to focus on the ATP Tour after helping the Czechs beat the Netherlands in the first round. Seeking their third straight Davis Cup title, the Czechs will rely again on veteran Radek Stepanek. CHEAP ADIDAS NHL JERSEYS . - Kyle Wood and Barclay Goodrow scored second period power-play goals to provide all of the scoring for the North Bay Battalion in a 2-0 victory over the Erie Otters in Ontario Hockey League action on Thursday.HOYLAKE, England -- Rory McIlroy had everything go his way Thursday in the British Open. A lovely summer day in England with abundant sunshine and minimal wind allowed him to attack Royal Liverpool. He made half his six birdies on the par 5s and kept bogeys off his card. And on the day Tiger Woods made a promising return, McIlroy took the lead with a 6-under 66, his best score in nearly two years at a major. Now if he can only find a way to get to the weekend. McIlroy either set himself up for a good run at the claret jug or another dose of Friday failures. In what already has been an unusual year for golf, no trend is more mysterious than Boy Wonder going from awesome to awful overnight. Six times in his last eight tournaments, he has had a nine-hole score of 40 or higher on Friday that has taken him out of the mix. "Its not like Ive shot good scores in first rounds and havent backed them up before," McIlroy said. "Im used to doing that. I just havent done it recently. Well see what tomorrow brings and what weather it is and try and handle it as best I can. "Hopefully," he said, "its just one of those things and Im able to turn it around tomorrow." Woods also would like to keep moving in the right direction. He got off to a troubling start with two quick bogeys, nearly made another one on the fourth hole, and then looked like a 14-time major champion when he ran off five birdies in six holes toward the end of his round for a 69. Not bad for guy who had back surgery March 31, who started taking full swings only a month ago and who had not played in a major in 11 months. "It felt good to be back out there competing again," Woods said. Such pristine weather -- how long it lasts is the big unknown -- gave just about everyone a chance to score. Matteo Manassero broke par in The Open for the first time since he was a 16-year-old amateur. He began his round by hitting into a pot bunker, blasting out to the fairway and holing out from 160 yards for birdie. He made five birdies on the back nine, three on the par 5s. That made him low Italian -- barely. Francesco Molinari and Edoardo Molinari have games that are nothing alike, though they shot the same score. They were in a large group at 68 along with Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry and Adam Scott. Scott stands out as the No. 1 player in the world, and because he was the only player in the top 10 who played in the afternoon when the wind made Hoylake tougher. Scott went out in 31 and was slowed only by two bogeys on the back nine. Even in tamme conditions, the British Open can mete out punishment -- to players, to spectators and even a golf club.dddddddddddd Phil Mickelson was trying to get back to even par when he hooked his approach to the 18th beyond the out-of-bounds stakes down the right side of the hole and had to scramble for a bogey and a 74. He hasnt broken par at a major since winning at Muirfield last summer. That still doesnt top the bad day of Ernie Els. His opening tee shot hit a spectator in the face, and the sight of so much blood shook the Big Easy. When he got to the green, he missed a 1-foot putt, and then carelessly tried to back-hand the next one into the hole and missed that one. The triple bogey sent him to a 79. Henrik Stenson knocked a 30-foot birdie putt off the 12th green and made double bogey, and then took two hacks out of the shin-high grass left of the 17th fairway. Walking to his next shot, he snapped his gap wedge over his thigh like a baseball player -- Bo Jackson comes to mind -- who had just struck out with the bases loaded. Through all this activity, two names came to the forefront -- McIlroy and Woods, both trying to restore their games from different circumstances. McIlroys only victory this year was at the BMW PGA Championship, where he started his week by breaking off his engagement with Caroline Wozniacki. He could have had more chances to win except for that 40 on the front nine at Quail Hollow, the 42 on the front nine at The Players Championship and the 43 on the back nine at the Memorial. He met with Jack Nicklaus, and the topic of his freaky Fridays came up. "I didnt mention it to him," McIlroy said. "He mentioned it to me -- How the hell can you shoot 63 and then 78? No, I think what we talked about was just holding a round together. And he was never afraid to make a change in the middle of the round ... to get it back on track." The trick for McIlroy is to not get derailed in the second round. For the year, he is 55-under par in the first round and 15-over par in the second round. Woods gave a light fist pump when he rolled in a 30-foot putt from just off the green on No. 11. He then hit a beautiful approach to 6 feet for birdie on the 12th. That put him under par in a tournament for the first time since March 9, the final round of Doral. OK, the sample size is small -- that was the last tournament he played until returning to Congressional three weeks ago after back surgery. Even so, he was playing with such rhythm late in his round that he might have wanted to keep going. That makes Friday a big day for Woods, too. ' ' '