Liverpool go back to top of Premier League. Man United stunned by 4-3 loss at Chelsea

Liverpool go back to top of Premier League. Man United stunned by 4-3 loss at Chelsea
Liverpool's Argentinian midfielder #10 Alexis Mac Allister (L) celebrates with his teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Sheffield United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on April 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 05 April 2024
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Liverpool go back to top of Premier League. Man United stunned by 4-3 loss at Chelsea

Liverpool go back to top of Premier League. Man United stunned by 4-3 loss at Chelsea
  • Alexis Mac Allister’s second-half strike inspired Liverpool to victory after Sheffield United had threatened to spring a surprise in the race for the title
  • English soccer’s biggest rivalry resumes Sunday with Liverpool chasing the title and United on the slide

LONDON: Liverpool overcame an unexpected test of their title credentials to beat last-place Sheffield United 3-1 on Thursday and move back to the top of the Premier League.

Manchester United’s season, meanwhile, descended deeper into crisis after conceding two goals in stoppage time in a 4-3 loss at Chelsea.

It doesn’t get any easier for Erik ten Hag’s team, which hosts Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.

English soccer’s biggest rivalry resumes with Liverpool chasing the title and United on the slide.

A 12th league defeat of the campaign for United was played out in front of new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe at Stamford Bridge and will likely see pressure intensify on manager Ten Hag.

LIVERPOOL LEAD

Alexis Mac Allister’s second-half strike inspired Liverpool to victory after Sheffield United had threatened to spring a surprise in the race for the title.

Conor Bradley’s own goal had evened the game at 1-1 after Darwin Nunez opened the scoring in the first half.

But Anfield erupted as Mac Allister unleashed an unstoppable effort from the edge of the area in the 76th to restore Liverpool’s lead, and substitute Cody Gakpo made it 3-1 with a header in the 90th.

UNITED STUNNED

Boyhood United fan Cole Palmer scored a hat trick as Chelsea came back in the final minutes to stun United.

Deep into stoppage time it looked like the visitors were going to walk away with a morale-boosting win after recovering from a disastrous start.

United had come back from going 2-0 down early through a goal from Conor Gallagher and Palmer’s penalty.

Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes evened the score at 2-2 before halftime and Garnacho headed his team in front after the break.

But Diogo Dalot’s clumsy challenge on Noni Madueke earned Chelsea a second penalty and Palmer converted in the 110th.

The drama wasn’t over yet. A minute later, Palmer’s effort from outside the box was deflected past Andre Onana to seal a spectacular comeback.


Barcelona lose at home for 1st time this season, falling 2-1 to Las Palmas

Barcelona lose at home for 1st time this season, falling 2-1 to Las Palmas
Updated 30 November 2024
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Barcelona lose at home for 1st time this season, falling 2-1 to Las Palmas

Barcelona lose at home for 1st time this season, falling 2-1 to Las Palmas
  • Barcelona had played superbly in the first three months under new coach Hansi Flick
  • They have now gone three rounds of La Liga without a win

BARCELONA: Barcelona lost at home for the first time this season when the Spanish league leader were stunned 2-1 by Las Palmas on Saturday.
Barcelona had played superbly in the first three months under new coach Hansi Flick and were flying high after convincing victories over Real Madrid in the domestic competition and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
They had won all eight home games overall.
But they have now gone three rounds of La Liga without a win. Prior to the loss to Las Palmas, they fell 1-0 at Real Sociedad and drew 2-2 at Celta Vigo.
Madrid, despite their own troubles especially in the Champions League, can now move ahead of Barcelona in the Spanish league. They trail Barcelona by four points with two games more to play.
Sandro Ramirez and Fábio Silva scored for the Canary Islands club on either side of Raphina’s equalizer.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal returned from a right ankle injury that had sidelined with for three weeks as a halftime substitute, but Jasper Cillessen saved his best shot. The Las Palmas goalkeeper also did well to palm a Raphinha free kick over his bar in the final minutes.


Mbappe’s problem is Real Madrid’s problem, says Ancelotti

Mbappe’s problem is Real Madrid’s problem, says Ancelotti
Updated 30 November 2024
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Mbappe’s problem is Real Madrid’s problem, says Ancelotti

Mbappe’s problem is Real Madrid’s problem, says Ancelotti
  • “Mbappe’s problem is the problem that we all have. The idea is to try to give our best version, not just of him but myself, other players,” Ancelotti told a news conference
  • “It’s not a problem about one player”

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said Saturday superstar striker Kylian Mbappe’s struggles this season are due to his team’s overall lack of consistency.
The French forward missed a penalty as Spanish and European champions Real Madrid lost on Wednesday in the Champions League against Liverpool, their third defeat in five matches in the competition.
Mbappe, who joined in the summer at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain contract, was criticized for his performance and has netted just two goals in his last nine games for Madrid.
“Mbappe’s problem is the problem that we all have. The idea is to try to give our best version, not just of him but myself, other players,” Ancelotti told a news conference ahead of Sunday’s La Liga clash against Getafe.
“It’s not a problem about one player, the problem that we have is one of a team that has not been capable of being consistent. It’s not a problem about one player.
“We have to try and improve that, do everything we can... among other things (Mbappe) is new here and adapting, among other things he’s scored eight goals and has participated in attack, giving assists.
“Yes he can play better, but we can all do better and we will try to.”
Mbappe was not included in the last two France squad lists and has also had off-field issues to deal with during his first months at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“He is absolutely not sunken, he knows he has to improve like we all do... he’s being scrutinized after the Liverpool game because he missed a penalty, like many of my players have,” continued Ancelotti.
The coach said the Liverpool defeat was partly due to losing players through injury, including Vinicius Junior, Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao among others, but that Brazilian winger Rodrygo was fit to face Getafe.
Madrid, second, trail La Liga leaders Barcelona by four points, albeit having played one fewer match.
“I am like Mbappe, I am trying to give my best version,” said Ancelotti.
“Results say that I have not been capable of doing that. I’m not happy... but I’m convinced we will fix it, like we always fix it.”


Saudi Arabia’s bid to host 2034 World Cup has received the highest-ever rating: FIFA

Saudi Arabia’s bid to host 2034 World Cup has received the highest-ever rating: FIFA
Updated 30 November 2024
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Saudi Arabia’s bid to host 2034 World Cup has received the highest-ever rating: FIFA

Saudi Arabia’s bid to host 2034 World Cup has received the highest-ever rating: FIFA
  • Last October, a FIFA delegation arrived in the Kingdom to review details of the bid and inspect the facilities to be used for the event
  • Games will be played in 15 stadiums distributed across Riyadh, Jeddah, Alkhobar, Abha and NEOM, plus ten other hosting sites

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2034 has received a rating of 419.8 out of 500, the highest technical rating ever given by the International Federation of Association Football to a file submitted to host the event, the federation has said.

FIFA’s announcement came ahead of the federation’s general assembly on Dec. 11 to decide which countries would host the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, the Saudi Press Agency reported early on Saturday.

On July 29, a Saudi delegation led by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, minister of sport and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Yasser Al-Misehal, Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, officially submitted the Kingdom’s bid book to FIFA to host the FIFA World Cup 2034 at a ceremony hosted in Paris, France.

Last October, a FIFA delegation arrived in the Kingdom to review the details of the bid. As proposed, 48 teams will be participating at venues in one country for the first time in history.

The delegation visited the cities proposed to host the tournament, inspected the sports projects and facilities included in the bid, and reviewed other preparations.

Commenting on the FIFA announcement, Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz said that the attention, empowerment and support received from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman contributed to the bid gaining the confidence of the international community.

SAFF President Yasser Al-Misehal said that “through the bid file, we are committed to providing an exceptional experience for all participants in the tournament, whether teams or participating delegations, and certainly for fans and football lovers around the world.”

Hammad Al-Balawi, head of the Bid File Unit, said: “The Kingdom’s bid file offers five host cities with diverse cultural and urban character that help fans and football lovers explore unique cultures and experiences in different regions of the Kingdom.”

In addition, he said, there were ten other hosting sites that “contribute to enhancing the experience of the participating teams through training camps and modern sports facilities, in addition to providing high accessibility between cities.”

As stated in the Kingdom’s bid, games will be played in 15 stadiums distributed across Riyadh, Jeddah, Alkhobar, Abha and NEOM, in addition to the ten other hosting sites across Saudi Arabia.


Ronaldo’s brace keeps Al-Nassr in title race after beating Damac 2-0

Ronaldo’s brace keeps Al-Nassr in title race after beating Damac 2-0
Updated 29 November 2024
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Ronaldo’s brace keeps Al-Nassr in title race after beating Damac 2-0

Ronaldo’s brace keeps Al-Nassr in title race after beating Damac 2-0
  • It was far from a vintage performance by the Riyadh club
  • Al-Nassr should have extended their lead on numerous occasions

RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on Friday to give Al-Nassr a vital 2-0 win over Damac that keeps the Riyadh hosts in the title race.
It was far from a vintage performance by the Riyadh club but they move on to 25 points from 12 games, three behind Al-Hilal and five behind Al-Ittihad, with the top two teams in action on Saturday.
Ronaldo went closest early on, heading over from a good position but had an even better one after 16 minutes as Al-Nassr were awarded a penalty following a handball in the area from Abdelkader Bedrane.
Ronaldo stuttered and delayed his run-up before drilling a low shot into the bottom-left corner beyond the diving Amin Al-Bukhari to show his famous “Siu” celebration for the 57th time in 58 league games for the Yellows.
Al-Nassr should have extended their lead on numerous occasions. Angelo rolled two shots just wide of the post while Sadio Mane had a close-range effort saved by Al-Bukhari after being put through on goal by a Ronaldo backheel in the area.
At the break, Nassr coach Stefano Pioli would have been frustrated by his team not getting a second, and after play resumed, the Italian would have been unhappy at his time looking sloppy at the back. More than once Bento had to save the team from defensive laxness.
Some of the pressure was removed after 55 minutes as Damac were reduced to ten men. The unfortunate Bedrane saw red for a dangerous challenge on Mohamed Simakan.
The visitors still managed to cause problems for the star-studded hosts but Ronaldo sealed the win with 10 minutes remaining. Nawaf Boushal got to the byline on the left and provided the five-time Ballon D’Or winner with the perfect pullback and the Portuguese star did the rest, firing a left-footed shot powerfully home. It was his ninth league goal of the season so far.
Al-Qadsia stay fourth behind Al-Nassr on goal difference with a 1-0 win at home to Al-Khaleej, a fifth league victory in succession for the newly promoted team.


Hojlund scores 2 for Manchester United to give Amorim winning home debut in Europa League

Hojlund scores 2 for Manchester United to give Amorim winning home debut in Europa League
Updated 29 November 2024
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Hojlund scores 2 for Manchester United to give Amorim winning home debut in Europa League

Hojlund scores 2 for Manchester United to give Amorim winning home debut in Europa League
  • Amorim: I see what everybody sees: good moments, difficult moments
  • Tottenham continued to show inconsistent form as they were held 2-2 at home by struggling Roma

Rasmus Hojlund scored twice as Manchester United fought back to beat Norwegian team Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League on Thursday to give new manager Ruben Amorim a victory in his first game at Old Trafford.

Hojlund also set up the opening goal scored by Alejandro Garnacho in the opening minute of the game, but United still had to stage a comeback in order to stay unbeaten in the competition with two victories and three draws.

“I see what everybody sees: good moments, difficult moments,” Amorim told TNT Sports “There was some confusion in the end, trying to hold on to the result, but the lads did a great job. They ran, they pressed, they tried to do the things we have worked on in the last three days and we won.”

After the visitors took a 2-1 lead, Hojlund equalized just before halftime and then scored the winner five minutes into the second half from close range, tapping in a cross from Manuel Ugarte.

After leaving Portuguese leaders Sporting Lisbon to replace the fired Erik ten Hag as United manager, Amorim made his debut in charge of United in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich in the English Premier League with Marcus Rashford scoring 81 seconds into the game.

In the Europa League, the goal came even sooner.

Hojlund intercepted a back pass to goalkeeper Nikita Haikin to allow Garnacho to put United ahead in the fist minute.

Hakon Evjen equalized in the 19th minute with a perfectly directed first-time left-foot strike from the edge of the area and Philip Zinckernagel gave the Norwegian champion the lead, finishing off a fast counter after Tyrell Malacia failed to stop him. Malacia made his first senior appearance in 550 days and was substituted at halftime by Diogo Dalot.

Tottenham continued to show inconsistent form as they were held 2-2 at home by struggling Roma. Tottenham lost 3-2 to Galatasaray in the previous round, then beat Manchester City 4-0 away in the Premier League, and gave up a late equalizer against Roma.

Captain Son Heung-min gave Spurs an early lead with a fifth-minute penalty but Evan N’Dicka pulled Roma level in the 20th. Brennan Johnson restored the lead for Tottenham in the first half but the hosts couldn’t hang on as Mats Hummels salvaged a draw in stoppage time.

Earlier, Athletic Bilbao cruised past Elfsborg 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday to join Lazio and Frankfurt at the top the 36-team standings,

Lazio missed a chance to remain the only team with a perfect record after five games as they were held 0-0 by Ludogorets at Stadio Olimpico. In Spain, Adama Boiro, Benat Prados and Gorku Guruzeta all scored for Bilbao.

Frankfurt, the 2022 Europa League winner, won 2-1 at Midtjylland.

Like in the new-look Champions League, the top eight teams after the eight-round league phase advance directly to the round of 16 in March, and teams placed from ninth to 24th enter a playoffs in February.

Among other results, Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce rebounded from their first defeat at Alkmaar (3-1) with a 2-1 win at Slavia Prague, Rangers won 4-1 at Nice, Ajax lost 2-0 to Real Sociedad and Braga eased past Hoffenheim 3-0.

Galatasaray drew 1-1 away at AZ Alkmaar after Victor Osimhen equalized for the Turkish club before halftime with his third goal in his last two Europa League games. Sven Mijnans scored early for Alkmaar, which finished the game with 10 men after substitute Kees Smit was sent off in injury time.

Georges Mikaukadze scored two goals while substitute Corentin Tolisso and Malick Fofana added one each for Lyon to rout host Qarabag 4-1.

Maccabi Tel-Aviv ended a four-game losing run with a 3-1 victory over Besiktas in a game that was played at a neutral venue in Debrecen, Hungary, after Turkish authorities decided not to host match.

That decision followed unrest after Maccabi’s recent Europa League game in Amsterdam, where at least five fans were injured in violent street attacks, after their team’s 5-0 loss to Ajax.

The game was played without fans at the request of Hungarian authorities.

Gavriel Kanichowsky, Dor Perets and Weslley Patati had a goal apiece for the Israeli team, while Rafa Silva netted for Besiktas.

Dynamo Kyiv lost its fifth straight game, this time 2-1 to Viktoria Plzen. The consolation goal for the Ukrainian team, scored by Vladyslav Kobaiev in stoppage time, was the first for Dynamo in the competition.

Conference League

Chelsea have been cruising the the third-tier Conference League with the fourth win from four after beating Heidenheim 2-0.

In a matchup between two teams that were perfect, Christopher Nkunku broke the deadlock in the second half from close range before Mykhailo Mudryk roofed the second from inside the area.

Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei received his second yellow card in stoppage time and was sent off.

Legia Warsaw remained the only other perfect team after a 3-0 win at Omonia.