PREMIER LEAGUE
Liverpool widen lead
Liverpool’s march to a first English league championship in 30 years is turning into a procession, while Manchester City certainly look in no state to stop it. Hours after City’s shaky defense conceded an 88th-minute equalizer in a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United, Virgil van Dijk powered home two headed goals from set-pieces to lead Liverpool to a 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield. In other games, Tottenham Hotspur beat AFC Bournemouth 3-2, West Ham United upset Chelsea 1-0, Crystal Palace won against Burnley 2-0 and Southampton rallied to beat Watford 2-1.
BUNDESLIGA
Klinsmann’s Hertha lose
Jurgen Klinsmann lost on his debut as Hertha BSC coach, Bayern Munich were finally beaten under interim coach Hansi Flick and RB Leipzig moved to the top of the table on Saturday. Leipzig profited from Bayern’s 2-1 shock defeat at home to Bayer 04 Leverkusen by moving three points clear of the Bavarian powerhouse with a 3-2 win against last-placed SC Paderborn, although they were fortunate after nearly letting a three-goal lead slip. Borussia Monchengladbach, two points behind Leipzig, were in a position to reclaim the lead with a win at home against SC Freiburg yesterday, with that game to begin after press time last night. Klinsmann’s tenure of Hertha began with a lackluster loss at home to 10-man Borussia Dortmund, who held on for a 2-1 win to ease the pressure on coach Lucien Favre. In other games, Cologne drew 1-1 at home against Augsburg and Fortuna Dusseldorf drew against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 1-1.
SERIE A
Pasalic outdoes Balotelli
Mario Balotelli showed flashes of form as he returned to Brescia’s lineup after sitting out a game due to disciplinary reasons, but it was another Mario who made the biggest impact on Saturday. Atalanta BC’s Mario Pasalic scored either side of halftime as they won 3-0 to stay in the Champions League qualifying places. Atalanta moved level on points with fourth-placed Cagliari and fifth-placed AS Roma, with the top four finishers qualifying for the Champions League. Elsewhere, Torino won against Genoa 1-0 and US Lecce won against ACF Fiorentina 1-0.
LA LIGA
Real Madrid beat Alaves
Real Madrid on Saturday pulled off a hard-fought victory against Deportivo Alaves, with Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal scoring second-half goals in the 2-1 win to take the league lead from Barcelona, who were to play fifth-placed Atletico Madrid yesterday. In other games, Real Sociedad beat Sociedad Deportiva Eibar 4-1, Valencia beat Villarreal 2-1 and Real Betis Balompie won 2-1 against RCD Mallorca.
LIGUE 1
Lyon battle to victory
Olympique Lyonnais battled back to claim a 2-1 win over RC Strasbourg Alsace on Saturday, moving to sixth in the table. Lyon moved to just two points adrift of Angers SCO in the third and final Champions League place after Angers fell to a 3-1 loss against OGC Nice. Elsewhere, Girondins de Bordeaux drew 1-1 against Stade de Reims, Lille OSC beat Dijon FCO 1-0, Nimes Olympique and Metz drew 1-1 and Montpellier HSC won 4-2 against Amiens.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
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