Leon Osman claims Everton CAN finish higher than arch-rivals Liverpool this season – despite the Reds’ summer spending Exclusive - Everton have the quality to surpass Liverpool this season, claims Osman

Leon Osman claims Everton CAN finish higher in the Premier League table than arch-rivals Liverpool this season – despite the Reds’ spending spree.

Brendan Rodgers’ side have splashed the cash this summer, following Luis Suarez's departure for Barcelona, laying out around £90million on Emre Can, Lazar Markovic and Divock Origi, along with Southampton trio Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren.

The Toffees haven’t been shy in the transfer market either, signing Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku for a club record £28m, and Osman, who will celebrate his testimonial on Sunday, believes Roberto Martinez’s side has what it takes to surpass their Merseyside rivals.

When asked whether Everton can finish higher than Liverpool, he told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show: “Yes we can. It’s going to be difficult though.

“Liverpool have strengthened, but so have we.

“We both have extra commitments with Europe this year but we aim to finish above them every season.”

England thrash India in third Test to level series

England have won the third Test against India by 266 runs at the Ageas Bowl to level the series at 1-1.

Moeen Ali finished with figures of 6 for 67, while James Anderson picked up 2 for 24, as Alastair Cook's side sealed their first win in 11 Tests.

Having been set a world record run chase of 445, India resumed on 112 for four.

But any faint hopes they had of rescuing the match were soon over, with Anderson taking the wicket of Rohit Sharma with just his third delivery.

Sharma appeared shocked to be given out caught-behind pushing forward at a delivery he might perhaps have left.

He had to go, though, without addition to his overnight six - and India did not reopen their account either until well into the fourth over of another sunny morning.

There was no doubt about Anderson's next success, another caught-behind and Jos Buttler's sixth on debut, when Mahendra Singh Dhoni got a much more obvious edge on some full-length swing to also go for six.

Given their recent history, and impending hearings, new batsman Jadeja was surely also on Anderson's hit-list.

But having got both Dhoni and the left-hander among his five first-innings victims, Anderson could not double up this time.

Instead, after a 13-over wait for England, it was Moeen who got Jadeja - yorking himself as the off-spinner drifting one into him to hit the bottom of off-stump.

For good measure, Mooen then saw off Bhuvneshwar Kumar - so often England's stumbling block in the India tail this summer - for a duck, his second wicket in the same over, with an inside-edge on to his pad and into the hands of gully.

Moeen then made short work of Mohammed Shami, clean-bowling him and soon afterwards number 11 Pankaj Singh as the visitors were bowled out before lunch for 178 to end the match.

The only shame was that, although a much bigger crowd than expected was in attendance to cheer Cook's team to their first win since last summer's Ashes, some arrived barely in time to see the tourists' terminal falter.

Park-and-ride arrangements at this out-of-town venue did not extend until the last day of the match, and demand turned out to be high to witness the culmination of England's mid-series resurgence.

In the end, though, India lasted long enough to ensure almost everyone arrived in time for the end of England's party.

The hosts will now be hoping for good news with regards to Anderson.

The linchpin seamer, who finished with match figures of seven for 77, could miss the fourth Test next week if found guilty of the Level Three offence India have cited him for.

Pura vida and a personal best for Ticos

It was in September 2013 that Costa Rica finally consigned to history the trauma of missing out on the previous FIFA World Cup™. Eight games into the final round of qualifying for Brazil 2014, Los Ticos had amassed 15 points, sufficient to guarantee them one of CONCACAF’s three automatic berths, and all with two matchdays to spare. A clear case of mission accomplished.

The success was also mirrored on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, where they found themselves in 31st place the following month. Just one year earlier, by contrast, Jorge Luis Pinto’s charges were ranked a distant 72nd. In the intervening 12 months, results had been overwhelmingly positive, as they claimed the 2013 Copa Centroamericana and navigated the region’s World Cup qualifiers with just a solitary defeat. Yet for all that, the best was still to come.

Passion in their veins
The expression pura vida (pure life) has become synonymous with Costa Rica, where it is widely used in greetings and goodbyes, as well as countless other social interactions. The catch-all phrase is a constant reminder of the people’s passion for life and joyful demeanour. Interestingly, it is not just used during good times, but also in difficult moments when positivity and a lift may be required.

It was precisely the latter scenario that Los Ticos found themselves in as the World Cup approached, despite many having predicted plain sailing. The year began badly with friendly defeats to Chile (4-0) and Korea Republic (1-0) then got even worse with a serious injury to Bryan Oviedo. The team’s first choice left-back broke both his tibia and fibula in late January and would eventually miss out on Brazil 2014. Costa Rica’s travails were also reflected in the following month’s FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, where they slipped back to 35th place.

The Central Americans had little choice but to call upon their renowned determination and passion to get back on track. Pinto’s side looked to be doing just that in a trio of pre-World Cup friendlies, beating Paraguay (2-1), losing to Japan (3-1) and drawing with the Republic of Ireland (1-1) – results that moved them up to 28th on June’s global ladder.

With everything set for their Brazilian adventure, Tico fans got the untimely news that Alvaro Saborio, the team’s top scorer in qualifying with eight goals, had fractured a metatarsal in training and would miss the World Cup.

With no time to feel sorry for himself, Pinto shuffled his pack and opted for a 5-4-1 formation in the Group D opener against Uruguay. Junior Diaz patrolled the entire left flank, providing a raft of crosses for Joel Campbell, while on the right, Oscar Duarte linked up well with midfield maestro Bryan Ruiz. Playing with speed and great mobility, Costa Rica downed a strong Uruguay side 3-1 to rack up their first three points.

Against Italy, it was the turn of Yeltsin Tejeda and Celso Borges to dominate the midfield. With Andrea Pirlo neutralised, the Central Americans were able to defend the lead given them by their skipper Ruiz. They then rounded off the first phase with a scoreless draw against England, in the process topping Group D and progressing to the Round of 16 for only the second time in their history.

Greece provided the next opposition and a tense encounter required penalties to separate the sides. A combination of flawless spot-kicking from the Tico players and Keylor Navas’s save took them into the unchartered waters of the last eight.

There was sense of déjà vu against the Netherlands in the quarter-final, when they also defended well and looked to hit their opponents on the break. And although penalties were once again required, this time Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana failed to score and the dream was over.

With their heads held high, Costa Rica bade farewell to Brazil 2014, the bitter taste of elimination sweetened somewhat by the fact they had made history. It was the culmination of a long journey paved with wonderful triumphs, difficult moments and, above all, pura vida.

As for the numbers game, all those highs and lows produced a happy ending in the form of 16th place on the most recent FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Now they can look to the future, and Russia 2018, with optimism thanks to a generation of young players who have shown their capacity to rewrite the record books and make history.