Gerrard scores his second goal against Newcastle

In their last game of 2008, Liverpool thrashed 痛击 Newcastle 5-1 away which put them three points ahead of Chelsea.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard thinks this is the best Liverpool side 队 he has played in and he is backing 支持 his team to win the Premiership title 联赛头衔 this year.

Big Hurdles  You look around the dressing room and, from the keeper to the forwards, we have some fantastic players. There is a confidence that we can get over big hurdles.   Steven Gerrard, Liverpool captain

“You look around the dressing room 更衣室 and, from the keeper 守门员 to the forwards 前锋, we have some fantastic players. There is a confidence that we can get over big hurdles 跨过艰难险阻.”

The dressing room is where the players change before and after a game and Gerrard thinks that from the Liverpool goalkeeper to the forwards, there are some great players.

A hurdle is the English word for what Liu Xiang jumps over when he runs and to get over big hurdles means to overcome difficult challenges.

Liverpool haven’t won the league since 1990. They always finish near the top of the league but haven’t taken the title 获得联赛头衔 for a long time, so they are very determined that this year will be their year 今年胜利将属于他们.

A Great Chance  We have given ourselves a great chance. If we want to stay at the top and be involved in this title race, we have got to deal with the pressure.   Steven Gerrard, Liverpool captain

Gerrard says, “We have given ourselves a great chance. If we want to stay at the top and be involved in this title race 有资格竞争联赛头衔, we have got to deal with the pressure 压力.”

In doing so well by this point in the season, Liverpool have a great chance of winning the title. But if they want to stay at the top so they can win they have to deal with the pressure of playing at such a high level.

The Christmas period 圣诞期间 is a busy time for footballers and Liverpool weren’t the only team to play. Fulham grabbed a last-minute equaliser 最后一分钟进球将比分扳平 against Chelsea drawing 2-2. Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was disappointed.

Dangerous Mistakes  We had more possession, but we made two dangerous mistakes in our box and because of that we’ve lost two points, it really was just incredible.   Luiz Felipe Scolari, Chelsea manager

“We had more possession 控球时间, but we made two dangerous mistakes in our box 禁区 and because of that we’ve lost two points, it really was just incredible 难以置信的.”

Possession means how much a team has the ball. The box, short for penalty box, is the area around the goal.

Chelsea made two dangerous mistakes and he says they lost two points because they were ahead. If you win you get three points but if you draw you only get one – so they lost two points when the score became 2-2.

There was another 2-2 draw at Blackburn against Manchester City, Everton continued their winning streak 继续一段时间里连续获胜的迹象 by beating Sunderland 3-0 and down the bottom of the league West Brom beat Tottenham 2-0 which will certainly help their prospects of survival 他们生存的希望 in the Premiership this year.