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MANCHESTER, England -- Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over a lacklustre Manchester City on Wednesday in the first leg of their League Cup semifinal before being involved in an angry tunnel exchange with home manager Roberto Mancini. Connor Barwin Womens Jersey . The pair clashed twice with Gerrard annoyed at Mancinis response to a two-footed tackle by Liverpool defender Glen Johnson on Joleon Lescott late in the game. Still annoyed at the four-match ban City captain Vincent Kompany must serve following his dismissal against Manchester United on Sunday, Mancini felt an even greater sense of injustice on Wednesday. "This (Johnson) tackle was worse," Mancini said. "Gerrard came to me and said I said something. It was not for Johnson. It is for the tackle. This tackle was worse than Vinnys. Everyone can see it." The incident completed a bad night for Mancini and his City side, which slumped to back-to-back home losses for the first time since February 2008. City looked lethargic throughout the first half and then failed to convert a number of chances in the second, three days after seeing its FA Cup defence ended by United. Gerrard slotted his spot kick into the bottom right corner and out of reach of goalkeeper Joe Hart in the 13th minute after Stefan Savic had fouled Daniel Agger in the area. City, which leads the Premier League by three points ahead of United and Tottenham -- which beat Everton 2-0 in Wednesdays only other game in English football -- struggled to make up for the absence of several key players against Liverpool. While Kompany is banned, Kolo Toure is on African Cup of Nations duty with the Ivory Coast and Mario Balotelli was substituted in the first half with an ankle problem. "It is clear that without three or four players its more difficult but in the end we didnt deserve to lose the game," Mancini said. "We played poorly in the first half but the result is not right. The right result was a draw." Kompanys stand-in, Stefan Savic, had a particularly difficult time, struggling to contain Liverpool forward Andy Carroll and conceding the penalty. "Savic needs to get experience," Mancini said. "It is normal. He is young. Against a striker like Carroll maybe he could have some difficulties. But in the second half it went better." Liverpool started strongly, and Hart had already been forced to make three good saves to keep the game scoreless before Gerrards penalty. "There were two different performances in each half," Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said. "(In the) first half we looked a little more threatening but in the second half, having got the goal advantage, we battened down the hatches and tried to get through it with no goals against us. "Not too many teams have come here and gone away with no goals against them." Citys performance improved after Balotelli was taken off and replaced by Samir Nasri, but the former Arsenal midfielder was denied by Pepe Reina with a shot from just outside the area. Sergio Aguero had Citys best chance to equalize in the second half, as he pounced on a poor back pass in the area and rounded Reina, but he couldnt get his effort on target from a tight angle as the goalkeeper kept up the pressure by diving at his feet. Aguero had another chance in the 66th when he ran into the area, but curled a weak shot at Reina that caused no problems for the keeper. Reina was also in the right place to deny Micah Richards close-range header after the stand-in City skipper had met Nasris corner. "We might have the slight advantage with the goal but it does not mean to say there will be anyone jumping through hoops at our place -- we will just go and be professional in the second leg," Dalglish said. "We have to be happy but we are not presuming that the job is done." In the other semifinal, Crystal Palace beat Cardiff 1-0 at home on Tuesday. Danieal Manning Jersey . -- No. 1 Alabama got everything but the shutout. Chris Myers Womens Jersey . The veteran Ottawa Senators captain has committed to playing for Sweden at the IIHF World Hockey Championship, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation. http://www.houstontexansfansprostore.com/arian-foster-jersey . Little drama, either. Novak Djokovic simply ground his way to another tournament title match. Arian Foster Youth Jersey . The backup netminder will start Thursdays game in Calgary after Roberto Luongo was pulled early in the second period of Vancouvers 5-4 comeback shootout victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. Bradie James Jersey . Four days after team owner Jim Irsay ignited speculation about a possible trade with a series of Twitter posts, the Colts acquired former first-round draft pick Vontae Davis to solidify their secondary. LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have raised enough championship trophies to realize they really shouldnt be getting excited about any win in the first week of November. After the Los Angeles Lakers stumbled through the past five weeks without winning any games anywhere, Kobe and Pau figured its fine to enjoy a small victory. Dwight Howard scored 28 points, Bryant had 15 points and eight assists, and the Lakers finally got their first victory of the season, 108-79 over the winless Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. "We had to stop the bleeding, and there wasnt a way to do it other than coming out here tonight and getting a solid win," said Gasol, who scored 14 points. "Weve got a little bit of tension out of ourselves right now." Metta World Peace scored 18 points for the Lakers, who went 0-8 in the preseason and started the regular season 0-3 for just the fourth time in franchise history despite adding Howard and Steve Nash over the summer. But the Lakers growing worries about coach Mike Browns new offence and their veteran rosters durability vanished for a night against the struggling Pistons, who never led and never threatened. "We needed this bad, just to change the mood and give us some of that feel-good feeling," said Steve Blake, who tied his career high with five steals while starting in Nashs place. "Losing games was tough. I guess we did a good job of staying positive, but it feels good, thats for sure." After their worst start to a season in 34 years, the Lakers occasionally resembled the powerhouse most expected to see this season -- even without Nash, who missed his second game with a small fracture in his leg. Los Angeles took a 28-point lead in the first half and stretched it to 36 points in the third quarter, with Howard dominating the paint and Bryant slipping easily into a playmaking role in the Nashs absence. Howard excelled in the paint against Greg Monroe, hitting 12 of 14 shots -- most of them right at the rim -- and grabbing seven rebounds with just one foul. "Its a relief -- more for Mike than anybody else," said Bryant, who appeared to play easily on his sore foot while taking just 10 shots and grabbing seven rebounds. Brown is aware his offence is getting roasted by fans and critics everywhere from Toluca Lake to TNTs "Inside the NBA," but hes sticking with the motion-based schemes. "We werent perfect offensively, but I think evverybody -- including us -- got a good taste of what it can be like," Brown said. Antonio Smith Jersey. "Were just barely scratching the surface on where this thing can go. ... Obviously, we needed a win. Every win we get gives us a little more belief on both ends of the floor." Bryant got all eight of his assists in the first half, and the Lakers starters played only token minutes in the fourth quarter, giving them valuable rest before Wednesdays trip to Utah. While the Lakers wait a week to learn the severity of Nashs injury, Blake had six assists and six points, while backup Darius Morris also played well with six points. The Lakers began the regular season by dropping games to Dallas, Portland and the Clippers, but theyve only started a season 0-4 once in franchise history -- and that was in 1957, back in Minneapolis. Los Angeles hadnt even started a season 0-3 since 1978 -- but that team won 15 of its next 16 games. "I dont think anyone over there was panicked that they were 0-3 or that they hadnt won a preseason game," Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. "Theyre a very good team. Theres a big disparity right now between us and the Lakers. It was total domination." Jonas Jerebko scored 18 points for Detroit in the second stop on a difficult six-game road trip. Detroits five starters all struggled mightily, going a combined 11 for 39 -- including Brandon Knights 1-for-8 performance. Rodney Stuckeys shooting slump reached three games, with the starting guard going 0 for 6 to drop to 1 for 23 this season. "We just had no rhythm to the game and no flow," said Tayshaun Prince, who scored nine points. "We knew the Lakers would try to start off quick, being in the position we were in without a win. You let a team shoot that high a percentage in the first quarter, its always going to be a problem, especially playing against a great team. Were a young team, and we showed it tonight." The Pistons also might wonder if the NBAs schedule-makers used Apple Maps to plot their trip: Detroit must travel to Denver for a game Tuesday, only to return to California to face the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday before heading back out to Oklahoma City. NOTES: The Lakers hadnt started 0-3 at home since 1959. ... Lakers assistant coach Darvin Ham played on the Pistons 2004 championship team, which upset the Lakers in the NBA finals. ... Flea, will.i.am, Andy Garcia and Jeremy Sisto attended the game. ' ' '