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Manchester City closed to within one point of Premier League leaders Arsenal with a comeback victory over Liverpool in an enthralling encounter at The Etihad.

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Man City 2

Kompany 31′ Negredo 45′

Liverpool 1

Coutinho 24′

Manchester City v Liverpool - Alvaro Negredo

By Phil McNulty Chief football writer at the Etihad

Manchester City closed to within one point of Premier League leaders Arsenal with a comeback victory over Liverpool in an enthralling encounter at The Etihad.

Liverpool topped the table on Christmas Day and, after Arsenal's win at West Ham earlier on Boxing Day, would have returned to the top had they been the first team to beat City at home this season.
Philippe Coutinho gave them a first-half lead - only for Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany to swiftly head an equaliser.
City's victory was secured in first-half injury time when Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet made a hash of his attempt to keep out Alvaro Negredo's chip, ensuring Manuel Pellegrini's side kept their flawless home league record.

Home is where the heart is

Manchester City have scored in 59 home Premier League games in a row, while Alvaro Negredo has netted in each of his last nine appearances at the Etihad Stadium

Liverpool, however, will take great encouragement from a performance that merited a draw, with Raheem Sterling wasting the best of several opportunities they created after the break, firing over with the goal at his mercy after good work from the dangerous Luis Suarez.

Pellegrini will regard this as further evidence City's title challenge is gathering momentum, while Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will be convinced this proves they can live comfortably in such elevated company.
The Northern Irishman will also question an offside decision against England winger Sterling in the first half and a late penalty claim when Suarez's shirt was pulled by Joleon Lescott.
Another big plus for City was an excellent performance from recently recalled keeper Joe Hart, who saved crucially from Coutinho and Jordan Henderson either side of the interval.
As a superb first half started to unfold, City were quickly into their stride and Mignolet was relieved to see a far post header from Jesus Navas glance off the woodwork to safety.
But Liverpool grew into the game and were soon demonstrating the passing and attacking movement that has become a characteristic of their game this season.

Match stats

City		Liverpool

2	Goals	1
20 (6)	Shots (on target)	12 (5)
7	Corners	6
10	Fouls	9
1	Offside	3
1	Yellow cards	3
0	Red cards	0
52%	Possession	48%

Sterling put the ball in the net after being incorrectly flagged offside - a desperately poor decision - but there was no escape for City when he was involved again as Liverpool went ahead.

Skipper Suarez's flick played in Sterling, who rounded Hart then stood aside as Coutinho arrived to turn the ball into an unguarded net from the angle.
Rodgers would have been desperate to see his side to at least consolidate their control but City were level inside seven minutes. Kompany escaped the close attentions of Martin Skrtel, who was tugging at his shirt, to head David Silva's corner down and past Mignolet.
The commitment of both sides to attack made a thrilling spectacle and only outstanding work by Hart at the end of another wonderful spell of Liverpool passing ensured City stayed on level terms.
Suarez and Jordan Henderson were the creators as Coutinho pounced, but Hart was down low to his left to save.
The value of Hart's save was emphasised in first-half stoppage time as an error from opposite number Mignolet saw City go ahead.
Samir Nasri's perfect early pass sent Navas clear. He found Negredo, whose attempted lofted finish carried neither power, pace or height, only for Mignolet's feeble attempt with a raised hand to make sure it dropped into the net behind him.

Free-scoring City

Manchester City have equalled the Premier League record of scoring 53 goals in the opening 18 games. It was previously set by City in 2011-12.

Rodgers made his first change midway through the second half, in which both sides had once again refused to take a backward step, sending on Victor Moses for Coutinho.

City, as ever, were a constant threat on the attack but as the half progressed it was Liverpool who made the better chances.
Glen Johnson's poor control allowed Hart to block at his near post before the keeper dropped down to grab a flick from Henderson.
The best chance fell to Sterling with 18 minutes left when Suarez escaped down the left flank and set the youngster up with what looked a like a simple finish from eight yards, only for him to sky an effort hopelessly over the top.
Suarez had appeals for a penalty turned down in the closing minutes. He had his shirt tugged by Lescott but his over-dramatic reaction may have persuaded referee Lee Mason against pointing to the spot.
City are one point behind Arsenal, with Liverpool dropping to fourth behind Chelsea, meaning just three points separate the top four.
Check out the best Premier League action photos on the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Lineup, Bookings (4) & Substitutions (5)

Manchester City

01 Hart
05 Zabaleta Booked
13 Kolarov
25 Fernandinho
04 Kompany
06 Lescott
15 Jesús Navas
42 Yaya Touré
09 Negredo (Dzeko - 77' )
21 Silva (Javi García - 87' )
08 Nasri (Milner - 72' )

Substitutes

07 Milner
10 Dzeko
14 Javi García
22 Clichy
30 Pantilimon
33 Nastasic
38 Boyata

Liverpool

22 Mignolet
02 Johnson Booked
20 Cissokho
21 Lucas (Iago Aspas - 82' )
37 Skrtel
17 Sakho
24 Allen
14 Henderson
07 Suárez Booked
31 Sterling
10 Coutinho (Moses - 68' Booked )

Substitutes

01 Jones
04 Kolo Touré
05 Agger
06 Luis Alberto
09 Iago Aspas
12 Moses
44 Smith

Ref: Lee Mason

Att: 47,351

Match Stats

Shots

20 12

On target

6 5

Corners

7 6

Fouls

10 9

Live Text Commentary

Full time

Full Time Match ends, Manchester City 2, Liverpool 1.

90:00 +4:15 Full time

Full Time Second Half ends, Manchester City 2, Liverpool 1.

90:00 +2:34 Offside, Liverpool. Jordan Henderson tries a through ball, but Luis Suárez is caught offside.
90:00 +2:02 Foul by Fernandinho (Manchester City).
90:00 +2:02 Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90:00 +0:53 Attempt blocked. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
90:00 +0:18 Booking

Booking Luis Suárez (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

90:00 +0:11 Joe Hart (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90:00 +0:11 Foul by Luis Suárez (Liverpool).
89:05 Attempt missed. Yaya Touré (Manchester City) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by James Milner.
87:38 Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Pablo Zabaleta.
87:05 Attempt saved. Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
86:45 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Manchester City. Javi García replaces David Silva.

85:50 Booking

Booking Victor Moses (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

85:38 Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
85:38 Foul by Victor Moses (Liverpool).
84:09 Attempt missed. Luis Suárez (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
83:28 Foul by Yaya Touré (Manchester City).
83:28 Luis Suárez (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
81:16 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Liverpool. Iago Aspas replaces Lucas Leiva.

Britney Spears thinks about retiring

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Britney Spears has been in show business since she was a child but admits she sometimes thinks about retiring. Her fans, however, don't need to worry she's going to disappear anytime soon -- she's already booked for a two-year residency in Las Vegas. Like many other stars, Spears is more about talk and less about action when it comes to retirement:

HIDE CAPTION

Can't stay away: Celebs who threaten to retire

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

E! documentary went behind-the-scenes with singer preparing for Las Vegas
Britney Spears admits she sometimes thinks about retiring
Spears says she's "not really made for this industry because I am so shy"

(CNN) -- When Britney Spears sings "you better work, b***h," it sounds like she might be singing that to herself.

The 32-year-old pop star has had a hectic year -- a new album, "Britney Jean," preparations for her upcoming two-year Las Vegas residency and her everyday role as a mom to two boys.

Spears admitted while promoting E!'s documentary "I Am Britney Jean" that there are times she thinks about not just slowing down but retiring altogether.

"I have thought about it," Spears told E!. "If I happen to have another baby or something like that, I'd probably move back to Louisiana. I do miss Louisiana. I miss the people. I miss the food. I miss the way of life, how everything is really simple."

But retirement remains just an idea rather than a plan. "I think right now is my time to perform and do what I'm doing," she said.

"Britney Jean" has been promoted as her most personal disc yet, and the E! documentary went behind-the-scenes of Spears' life as the singer prepared for Vegas.

Along the way, the pop star offered up revelations on everything from her thoughts on sex (she loves it) to her favorite bubble gum flavor (watermelon) to why she thinks she's not really made for this industry.

"Personally, I'm really a shy person," she said. "I'm particularly not really made for this industry because I am so shy. It's not something that I deal with so well."

Besides the difficulty of being in the public eye, she also insists on perfection when performing -- or as Spears put it in the doc, "Being a perfectionist really sucks."

"It's just a lot of pressure," she explained, but that pressure is also what keeps her going. "I have that motivation in rehearsals to make it the best every time. That's why I do what I do.

CNN

'Home' for the holidays? Not that easy

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Hannah Palmer is pictured in her childhood home in Mountain View, Georgia.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Going home for Christmas? What if you're not sure where home is?
We asked people without a clear hometown to meditate on the idea of "home"
What does home mean to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below

Editor's note: This piece is the last installment of CNN.com's "Going Home" series, which explores the notion of returning to our hometowns as adults. Once the childhood home is gone, is it even possible? Read Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

(CNN) -- Are you going home for the holidays? If so, you're one of millions. But at this time of year, with so much emphasis on being home for Christmas, what about those who aren't quite sure where "home" is?

The third culture kids, military brats and wanderlust-ridden travelers of the world -- what defines home for them? We asked several of them to meditate on the idea of home this holiday season. They searched their hearts, and here's what they decided is home.

All my homes were 'erased'

Hannah Palmer and her son explore the area near the Atlanta airport where her childhood homes once stood.

You've probably flown over Hannah Palmer's childhood homes -- or, at least, the sites where they used to be. She grew up in Atlanta, near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Hartsfield-Jackson is the busiest airport in the world, and has been for the past 15 years. As it expanded, the airport and related development projects ate up all three of the houses Palmer lived in as a child. They became "warehouses, runways, and in one case, a CVS Pharmacy," she said. "I literally can't go home again."

Now in her 30s with a child of her own, Palmer still lives near the airport, in the Metro Atlanta city of East Point. She's troubled by the fact that she'll never be able to show her children the places she grew up, and is trying to preserve their history as well as she can. Her MFA thesis, which she's now turning into a book, focused on communities that disappeared as the airport expanded.

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"To find the truth about what happened to my houses, to my family, and to their communities, I have picked through the ruins of kudzu-covered, airport-owned ghost towns, visited carefully preserved cemeteries between the runways, and tracked down an entire subdivision built out of relocated airport-area houses," she said. "I've had awkward interviews with former residents, business owners, community leaders, firemen, homeless men, and my own mom and dad. The quest is like trying to locate a body, 30 years later."

And what has she learned about the idea of home in the process? That it's as much about the stories and memories as it is about the physical place.

"Cities are ephemeral," she said, "but stories remain a powerful force for shaping the places we call home."

'A serious case of wanderlust'

Neha Shastry wanders St. Andrews, Scotland, in 2009.

Neha Shastry hated moving as a child. Before she went to college, her family had moved seven times and she'd lived in India, Singapore, Indonesia, and Washington, D.C. She was jealous of the kids she met who had lived in the same house their whole lives -- "I craved this kind of stability."

But when it was time for her to go off to college, Shastry had an epiphany.

"I was itching to go somewhere else and begin anew," she said. So she decided to attend the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Even then, "four years in one place seemed like an eternity." By that point, she knew she was meant to travel.

Now that she's graduated, Shastry is living in London and pursuing a journalism career, "a path that ensures travel and instability," she said. "I can't wait to see where I go next."

As for home, Shastry has decided that "it's wherever I want it to be, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

'I really can't say where I am from'

Nicole Eisenschenk, in the striped shirt, is pictured with her family in 1993. They lived in Dallas, Texas.

Nicole Eisenschenk tells people she's from Florida, "because it's easy" and it's where she lived the longest as a kid. But the details are a little more complicated.

Eisenschenk was born in Hawaii, the daughter of a British woman and an American man who was stationed in Pearl Harbor with the Marines. Her dad's family is in Minnesota; her mom's in Malta. She was raised in North Carolina, Texas and Florida. And she currently lives in Bangkok, Thailand, where she works as an English teacher.

"I remember all the homes I have lived in and each had its great memories," she said. "Each place, there was some significant event that happened there."

Still, Eisenschenk believes it's not really the towns or houses that matter.

"I feel at home when I am with my family, be that my immediate family or my extended family," she said. "The homes don't matter too much, but the love and the memories are what make a family. Wherever they are is where my home is."

Always the new girl

Teresa Lister visits Innis Park near her current home in Ohio.

Teresa Lister says that being a military brat, constantly on the move, has its challenges.

It means "a lifetime of moving here and there, of giving up all your friends, of not having holidays with grandparents or even knowing your cousins," she said. "There are no high school reunions or invitations to school chums' weddings or watching our children grow up together."

"There are many things I have missed in life because of these journeys," said Lister. But still, as she's gotten older, she's begun to appreciate the things she experienced in her military family.

"Because of my father's career, I have traveled the world and seen things the majority of Americans will never see," she said. She's visited the pyramids of Egypt and enjoyed cups of chai in Pakistan.

Now living in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Lister has decided she knows what makes a home: love.

"Home is shopping with my daughter and sharing our morning together. Home is curling up on the couch with my husband of over 40 years or waking up at dawn to the sound of my granddaughter wanting me to come see the morning glories with her. Home is ... the quiet place where you listen to the sounds of nature or sit alone with the presence of God," she said.

"Home is where you are loved."

This holiday season, what does home mean to you? Share your thoughts in the comments belo

Alan Turing, British code-breaker castrated for homosexuality, receives pardon

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File photo: British mathematician Alan Turing at the school in Dorset, southwest England, aged 16 in 1928.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Alan Turing's code-breaking is credited with helping to end World War II
He killed himself in 1954 after being chemically castrated for homosexual activity
Nearly 60 years later, he receives a posthumous royal pardon
Britain says the pardon is "a fitting tribute to an exceptional man"

(CNN) -- Alan Turing, a British code-breaker during World War II who was later subjected to chemical castration for homosexual activity, has received a royal pardon nearly 60 years after he committed suicide.

Turing was best known for developing the Bombe, a code-breaking machine that deciphered messages encoded by German machines. His work is considered by many to have helped change the course of the war and save thousands of lives.

"Dr. Turing deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science," British Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in a statement Tuesday. "A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man."

Turing's castration in 1952 -- after he was convicted of homosexual activity, which was illegal at the time -- is "a sentence we would now consider unjust and discriminatory and which has now been repealed," Grayling said.

Two years after the castration, which Turing chose to avoid a custodial sentence, he ended his life at the age of 41 by eating an apple laced with cyanide.

Supporters have long campaigned for Turing to receive greater recognition for his work and official acknowledgment that his punishment was wrong.

An online petition in 2009 that drew tens of thousands of signatures succeeded in getting an apology from then Prime Minister Gordon Brown for Turing's treatment by the justice system in the 1950s. Brown described the Turing sentence as "appalling."

The German messages that Turing cracked at the British government's code-breaking headquarters in Bletchley Park provided the Allies with crucial information. The German messages were encoded by Enigma machines, which Adolf Hitler's military believed made its communications impenetrable.

Turing was considered a mathematical genius and later developed the Turing machine, which is considered to have formed the basis of modern computing.

"Alan Turing was a remarkable man who played a key role in saving this country in World War II by cracking the German enigma code," British Prime Minister David Cameron said. "His action saved countless lives. He also left a remarkable national legacy through his substantial scientific achievements, often being referred to as the 'father of modern computing.' "

The pardon, under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy, comes into effect Tuesday, the British Ministry of Justice said.

AK47 assault rifle designer Kalashnikov dies at 94

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Mikhail Kalashnikov: "I created a weapon to defend the fatherland's borders"

The inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has died aged 94, Russian officials say.

The automatic rifle he designed became one of the world's most familiar and widely used weapons.
Its comparative simplicity made it cheap to manufacture, as well as reliable and easy to maintain.
Although honoured by the state, Kalashnikov made little money from his gun. He once said he would have been better off designing a lawn mower.
Kalashnikov was admitted to hospital with internal bleeding in November.

Analysis

Jonathan Marcus BBC diplomatic correspondent

Mikhail Kalashnikov's 1947 design became the standard equipment of the Soviet and Warsaw pact armies. Versions were manufactured in several other countries, including China.
With its distinctive curved magazine, the Kalashnikov became a revolutionary icon in the hands of militants and insurgents around the globe.
When I met him in Paris, he proudly wore the insignia of a Hero of Socialist Labour on his jacket. He seemed perplexed at the extraordinary changes that had engulfed his country.
He was sensitive to any criticism that his gun had caused countless casualties around the world. He told me he had simply designed the rifle to defend the Soviet Union. The uses to which it had been put elsewhere were nothing to do with him, he said.
The Kalashnikov - which is still widely used today - will go down in history. If the name of Samuel Colt and his revolver is associated with the 19th Century, then the gun of the 20th Century is undoubtedly the Kalashnikov.

He died on Monday in Izhevsk, the city where he lived 600 miles east of Moscow, an official there said.

Matching the Germans Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov was born on 10 November 1919 in western Siberia, one of 18 children.
In 1938, he was called up by the Red Army and his design skills were used to improve the effectiveness of weapons and equipment used by Soviet tank regiments.
He designed the machine gun after being asked by a fellow soldier why the Russians could not come up with a gun that would match the ones used by the Germans.
Work on the AK47 was completed in 1947, and two years later the gun was adopted by the Soviet army.
Kalashnikov continued working into his late 80s as chief designer at the Izhevsk firm that first built the AK-47.
He received many state honours, including the Order of Lenin and the Hero of Socialist Labour.
Kalashnikov refused to accept responsibility for the many people killed by his weapon, blaming the policies of other countries that acquired it.
However, pride in his invention was tempered with sadness at its use by criminals and child soldiers.
"It is painful for me to see when criminal elements of all kinds fire from my weapon," Kalashnikov said in 2008.

UK storm: Damage hits travel as more severe weather hits

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BBC weather forecaster Chris Fawkes says more bad weather is on the way and explains the likely impact of the powerful atmospheric jet stream

Scotland and Northern Ireland are bearing the brunt of the latest storms to hit the UK, amid continuing travel disruption.

Two people died in Monday's storms - a man in Cumbria and a woman in Gwynedd.
Homes have been damaged and many are without power in southern England, and road, sea and air travel is affected.
In Dorset, about 25 people trapped in cars by flood water have been rescued by fire crews, Dorset Fire Control said.
Warnings for high winds in Northern Ireland and north-west Scotland have been in place since the early hours, and BBC forecasters said the winds would continue to strengthen through the morning, potentially reaching up to 90mph.
As many prepare to travel home for Christmas, there is disruption to many rail services:

Ferry passenger Catriona Koris: "We've had injured people air-lifted to safety"

Southern services are suspended until further notice because of "extreme disruption" to the network
South West Trains says no trains will run before 10:00 GMT to allow lines to be checked
East Coast trains is planning to run its Christmas Eve timetable as published
Virgin says it expects delays and disruption to its services
First Great Western services may be affected as a result of Monday's disruption
The Cardiff Valleys, Cambrian Mainline and Birmingham International/New Street routes of Arriva Trains Wales are affected
The Gatwick Express is not running
Many other routes are also being hit by cancellations and delays, with people advised to check before they travel

Weather information

From the BBC:
Elsewhere:

The severe weather is causing disruption at some airports. At Gatwick, terminal are causing issues with manual check-in.

London's Heathrow is also warning of problems and urging passengers to check flight details.
Many ferry services are also still disrupted.
Some people were forced to spend the night in their cars at the Port of Dover, waiting to sail to France.
Meanwhile, as many as 27,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity in southern England, Southern Electric said on Monday night, with 13,000 in and around Aldershot alone.
Others were without power in Oxford, Poole in Dorset, and Petersfield in Hampshire
Some 3,000 Western Power Distribution customers in Cornwall and a further 2,000 in other parts of the South West were left without electricity. Some 800 were still without power on Monday evening.
In other developments:

eastafricannews

Manchester City closed to within one point of Premier League leaders Arsenal with a comeback victory over Liverpool in an enthralling encounter at The Etihad.

Home is where the heart is

Match stats

Free-scoring City