Liverpool woes continue; QPR draws

Queens Park Rangers’ Adel Taarabt reacts to his missed chance to score against Reading during an English Premier League match at Loftus Road stadium, London, Sunday. QPR once again failed to earn its first win of the season and was held to a 1-1 draw. [AP/YONHAP]

LONDON - Liverpool failed to mark captain Steven Gerrard’s 600th appearance for the club with a win when it was held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool needed a well-taken 67th-minute equalizer from Uruguay forward Luis Suarez to save a point after Newcastle took a first-half lead through Yohan Cabaye’s stunning strike.

Earlier, Queens Park Rangers and Reading drew 1-1 at Loftus Road, leaving the two sides still looking for their first League wins of the season and both in the relegation zone.

Gerrard was presented with a statue of Liverpool’s city emblem, the liver bird, by former captain Gary McAllister before the match when manager Brendan Rodgers compared him to Superman, although not even his astonishing powers could bring victory.

Hatem Ben Arfa created Newcastle’s opener with a superb run down the right side before crossing for Cabaye, who lashed the ball into the far corner of the net after 43 minutes.

Suarez leveled with an excellent goal when he controlled a long ball from Jose Enrique and rounded keeper Tim Krul to score.

In the early kickoff, QPR and Reading shared the points in an early-season relegation scrap at Loftus Road.

QPR manager Mark Hughes has been consistently backed by owner Tony Fernandes but Hughes admitted afterwards, “we need to get maximum points on the board as soon as possible.”

Former QPR defender Kaspars Gorkss put Reading ahead with an acrobatic volley in the 16th minute after the ball rebounded off the bar before Djibril Cisse equalized with a well-taken goal, controlling and firing home from close range after 66 minutes.

Adel Taarabt had a golden opportunity to win it for QPR in the closing stages but Reading keeper Alex McCarthy made a superb block with his feet to steer the ball past the post.

It was his second important save after a brilliant effort stopped Esteban Granero’s free-kick in the first half. The result left Reading in 18th place with five points from nine games and QPR 19th with four from 10.

Reuters