LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool thumped Everton 4-1 in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday to stay two points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea. A beautiful, curling shot from Jordan Henderson put Liverpool ahead in the ninth minute before the midfielder set up Salah with a fine through ball and the Egyptian provided a clinical finish to make it 2-0. Everton looked to be on the ropes but they found a way back into the game seven minutes before the break, with Demarai Gray, after good work from Brazilian Richarlison. The home side stuck at the task but Liverpool put the contest beyond doubt with Salah whisking the ball away from Seamus Coleman and providing the coolest of finishes. Diogo Jota completed the rout with an outstanding finish, the Portuguese forward spinning away from Allan, with a brilliant turn, before blasting past Jordan Pickford's near post. Liverpool are in third place on 31 points, a point behind Manchester City and two adrift of leaders Chelsea.
BRUSSELS (REUTERS) - Belgium qualified for next year's World Cup finals and kept up their unbeaten qualifying run as they beat Estonia 3-1 in Brussels on Saturday (Nov 13). The Belgians, semi-finalists in Russia in 2018, climbed to an unassailable 19 points in Group E as Christian Benteke scored early and Yannick Carrasco and Thorgan Hazard added second-half goals. Belgium join Brazil, Denmark, France and Germany among the first five countries to qualify for next year's finals in Qatar. But it was in fact a wasteful display from Belgium, whose supporters were expecting more of a goal feast at the King Baudouin Stadium to celebrate qualifying for a third successive World Cup. Without the injured Romelu Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi, the 30-year-old Benteke was given a rare chance to lead the attack and took little time to open the scoring. He tapped-in from close range after Estonia goalkeeper Matvei Igonen made a horrible error, letting a low cross from Carrasco slip through his hands. Benteke might have had a couple more before the break while Eden Hazard was away with just the goalkeeper to beat, after a clever over-the-top pass from Kevin De Bruyne, but wasted the chance. Carrasco showed the way after Benteke had set him up in the 52nd minute with a powerful left-footed drive into the top of the net from the edge of the area. But Estonia then pulled one goal back when Rauno Sappinen's shot was palmed away by Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into the path of Erik Sorga, who cut the deficit in the 70th minute. It was four minutes later that the two-goal advantage was restored when substitute Thorgan Hazard headed home De Bruyne's cross. Belgium, who are top of the FIFA rankings despite a quarter-final exit at the European Championship and fourth place at last month's Nations League finals, will finish their qualifying campaign away against Wales in Cardiff on Tuesday. More on this topic Related Story Football: Mbappe shines as France thump Kazakhstan 8-0 to qualify for World Cup finals Related Story Football: Late goals for Montenegro put Dutch World Cup celebrations on hold
LONDON (REUTERS) - England took another, somewhat faltering, step towards 2022 World Cup qualification when they drew 1-1 with Hungary at Wembley on Tuesday (Oct 12) as they are now three points clear at the top of Group I with two matches remaining. The game was marred by fighting in the stands between Hungary fans and baton-wielding police just after kickoff, with riot police entering the fray as visiting supporters forced stewards and police back down a tunnel. On the pitch, the visitors went ahead with a Roland Sallai penalty after 24 minutes after England fullback Luke Shaw caught a stooping Loci Nego in the head as he attempted a clearance. England equalised in the 37th minute when a Phil Foden free kick was flicked on by Tyrone Mings and the ball was turned in by John Stones from close range. “You can say it’s poor because we drew the game but we dominated. Silly penalty to give away but we got back into the game and could not get that killer touch,” said England midfielder Declan Rice. “You have to give credit to the opposition sometimes. Hungary were much better than when we played them away.” England were packed with attacking talent but failed to impose themselves on a team they beat 4-0 in Budapest last month and created few further chances against the battling visitors. The result leaves England top of the group on 20 points ahead of Poland, who beat Albania (15 points) 1-0 away in another match hit by crowd trouble. Euro 2020 runners-up England are still strong favourites to win the group via their remaining games against Albania and San Marino next month, but have left themselves work to do after a display described as disappointing by coach Gareth Southgate. “Hungary, full credit to them. I thought they caused us a tactical problem. We weren’t fluid and I didn’t think we played at the level that we need to play,” he said. “We’ll go away and think about the balance of the team a little bit but I think individually we can do better as well. “We made lots of simple mistakes with the ball. I think right across the board from the start we weren’t sharp with our play, gave the ball away, we were overrunning things. “So I just think that we were underneath it. It’s the first time for a long time but we have to hold our hands up to that.” Hungary, in fourth place on 11 points, need a miracle to have a chance of snatching second place and a playoff berth but still celebrated Tuesday’s point as if they had won the World Cup. More on this topic Related Story Football: McTominay gives Scotland dramatic win, England thrash Andorra Related Story On The Ball: England's third attacking spot shaping up to be Southgate's biggest dilemma
MADRID (AFP) - Lionel Messi scored a brilliant volley but Barcelona's title hopes could be over, with a 3-3 draw away at Levante on Tuesday (May 11) giving Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid the chance to pull away at the top of La Liga. Another slip could prove decisive given Atletico will move four points clear of Barca with two games left if they can win away at Real Sociedad on Wednesday. Real Madrid will edge two points ahead of Ronald Koeman's side if they win away on Thursday at Granada. There are certainly no guarantees in what has been a frenetic and thrilling title race in recent weeks, with all of Spain's four contenders stumbling down the final stretch. But with only two games left now and potentially two teams to catch, Barcelona's chances of taking the title off Real Madrid this season would appear remote.
SEVILLE, SPAIN (AFP) - A classy goal from Mason Mount on Wednesday (April 7) helped Chelsea to a 2-0 first-leg win over Porto, whose wasteful finishing could have scuppered their hopes of springing another Champions League upset in the quarter-finals. Mount’s slick turn and shot in the first half would have been painful enough for Porto, who were the better side for large spells of this first leg in Seville but repeatedly lacked the precision to take advantage. Instead, their misery was compounded by Ben Chilwell capitalising on a mistake at the back to score a late second that gave Chelsea another away goal and leaves them on the brink of the semi-finals. They were away goals only in name given both these teams were playing in the unfamiliar Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where they will meet again next week, just with the home and away roles reversed. Porto were in the home dug-out, wore their home kit, had a large club banner in the empty stand behind one goal and their anthem was the one that played out before kick-off. And Chelsea played the part too, delivering a classic away performance of soaking up the pressure and hitting their opponents on the counter-attack, their quality in the final third proving decisive. Real Madrid could lie in wait for the victors, after they beat Liverpool 3-1 on Tuesday. “There is a good atmosphere in the dressing room, we are happy but not too happy, excited but not too excited,” said Chelsea’s coach Thomas Tuchel. “We have to have a top mentality and a top performance next Tuesday.” Mount’s goal makes him Chelsea’s youngest ever scorer in the Champions League at 22 years and 87 days old while Chilwell’s second meant the club boasted two English scorers in a Champions League game for the first time since 2012. Chelsea’s win also goes some way to easing the shock of Saturday’s 5-2 loss at home to West Brom in the Premier League, which ended Thomas Tuchel’s 14-match unbeaten start as coach. Tuchel decided Thiago Silva’s 29 minutes before being sent off in that game were not enough to hone his sharpness, meaning Andreas Christensen was picked in the back three. And Antonio Rudiger also returned, despite his training ground scuffle with Kepa Arrizabalaga on Sunday, which Tuchel described as a “serious situation”. Porto were regarded as the plum draw in the last eight, despite seeing off Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus in the last 16, their task made harder this time by the suspensions of Mehdi Taremi and top scorer Sergio Oliveira. But they were the aggressors from the outset, with Chelsea surrendering the ball and the chances. Porto had six shots to Chelsea’s one before half-time, with Mateus Uribe grazing the top of the net with an early volley and the excellent Otavio almost catching Edouard Mendy out with a corner before Zaidu Sanusi smashed over the rebound. Chelsea, though, showed them what ruthlessness looked like when Jorginho fired a pass into Mount on the edge of the area inside the right channel. Mount took it on his back foot and twisted away from the sliding Zaidu, before firing a cool finish into the far corner. Porto kept coming in the second half and kept missing too. Moussa Marega snuck in but his shot was saved by the feet of Mendy before Jesus Corona feathered Luis Diaz through but he took too long. Diaz curled wide after a good run by Wilson Manafa. Chelsea absorbed them and then hit them with a sucker-punch, Mateo Kovacic’s ball over the top miscontrolled by Corona, allowing Chilwell to steam clear, round the goalkeeper and finish.
BARCELONA (REUTERS) - Barcelona have a chance of fighting back from a three-goal deficit in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg with Paris St Germain as long as the club's all-time top scorer Lionel Messi is on form, coach Ronald Koeman said on Tuesday (March 9). Barca were beaten 4-1 at home and no side has ever overturned a three-goal deficit in an away leg of the Champions League. "If Leo is capable of playing one of his best games, everything is possible. He can decide a game at any moment," Koeman told a virtual news conference on Tuesday before his side set off for the French capital. "But he can't be the only one at the top of his game, everyone needs to be. We also have to have some luck and make sure we take our chances and are as effective in front of goal as possible." Barca staged the greatest comeback in European Cup history when they overhauled a 4-0 defeat away to PSG in a last-16 tie in 2017 by winning 6-1 win at Camp Nou. Koeman admitted that his side's task at the Parc des Princes was even harder than four years ago and dismissed suggestions PSG would have that match on their mind when they took to the pitch or be complacent. Barca will also feel emboldened by their ability to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Sevilla in a Copa del Rey semi-final last week by winning 3-0 after extra-time in the second leg last week. "I don't think PSG will be scared of us. I'm sure their coach will prepare them as best as he can and ensure they won't think it as an easy game. But the circumstances are totally different this time and it's always easier to play the second leg at home," he said. "It's always harder to come back from 4-1 away than 2-0 at home but nothing is impossible. We believe in ourselves and we know that Barca have to try to win every game and we're going to show the mentality we have shown for a long time." Barca are missing two key centrebacks in Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo. PSG's Neymar has failed to recover in time from a thigh injury and will be unable to face his former club while Moise Kean, who scored the French side's third goal in the 4-1 win, is unavailable after testing positive for Covid-19.
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka scored and had an assist each as Arsenal won 3-1 away to Southampton in the Premier League on Tuesday (Jan 26), exacting revenge for their FA Cup fourth-round loss to the Saints on Saturday. Southampton took an early lead when Stuart Armstrong met James Ward-Prowse's corner with a thunderous half-volley in the third minute, but Nicolas Pepe drew Arsenal level five minutes later with a cool left-footed finish from Granit Xhaka's pass. Saka put the Gunners ahead six minutes before halftime, latching on to a superb pass from Lacazette before rounding keeper Alex McCarthy, who had rushed out of his goal, and slotting the ball home. The roles were reversed in the 73rd minute as Saka crossed for Lacazette to score the third and seal a victory that lifts Arsenal to eighth place in the table on 30 points, one ahead of Aston Villa, Chelsea and Southampton.
LONDON (AFP) - Arsenal's recent revival ground to a halt as Crystal Palace frustrated the Gunners in a scrappy 0-0 Premier League draw at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday (Jan 14). Mikel Arteta's side had won their previous four matches in all competitions, but they were fortunate to extend their unbeaten run to five games. Palace were unable to convert several first half chances and, although Arsenal improved after the interval, they missed a chance to climb into the top half of the Premier League. Arsenal sit in 11th place, eight points adrift of the Champions League places as they continue to pay the price for their worst start to a season since 1974-75. Just before Christmas, Arsenal were only four points above the relegation zone, so their current position 12 points away from the bottom three affords Arteta some much-needed breathing space. But this disjointed display underlined the attacking flaws that have stopped Arsenal's building on last season's FA Cup triumph. Palace have only won one of their past eight matches in all competitions and are one point behind Arsenal in 13th. Emile Smith-Rowe, Arsenal's promising young midfielder, started after scoring against Newcastle as a substitute last weekend. But Kiernan Tierney was absent with muscle tightness and the Gunners missed the Scotland left-back's busy presence. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has endured a difficult season and, once again, Arsenal's captain was a diffident figure. The Gabon forward briefly sparked into life and tested Vicente Guaita with a fierce strike that has parried by the Palace keeper. But Palace were finding their feet on a wet evening and Granit Xhaka had to make a perfectly timed sliding tackle to stop Wilfried Zaha getting a shot away after the forward slalomed into the penalty area. Palace broke through the Arsenal defence again when Christian Benteke scooped his shot wastefully over from 10 yards after good work by Tyrick Mitchell. James Tomkins was inches away from giving Roy Hodgson's men the lead as the Palace defender got above Rob Holding to glance his header against the bar from Eberechi Eze's free-kick. Arsenal were struggling to get out of their own half and Bernd Leno had to make a superb save to repel Benteke's header from Mitchell's cross. Arteta's half-time team talk seemed like it might have the desired effect and Hector Bellerin drilled just wide from the edge of the area in the opening minute of the second half. Arsenal threatened again as Bukayo Saka forced Guaita to block at the near post before Alexandre Lacazette blasted into the side-netting after a flowing move. Arteta sent on Nicolas Pepe and Thomas Partey, back after a month out with a thigh injury. But the expected push never came and Palace were able to keep the misfiring Gunners at bay with ease.