ENGLAND
Reds begin life without Luis
Liverpool started life without Luis Suarez on Wednesday with a 2-1 defeat against Danish side Brondby IF in the club’s opening pre-season friendly. Christian Norgaard gave the hosts the lead from a free-kick midway through the first half, before Liverpool’s Sweden international Kristoffer Peterson leveled early in the second half. Ferhan Hasani hit Brondby’s winner in stoppage-time. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers shrugged off the loss in the team’s first game since Suarez’s move to Barcelona, preferring to concentrate on the challenges of the new Premier League season which starts on Aug. 16. “This year, we know it’s going to be extremely competitive. Every team will strengthen and we’ll be exactly the same, but the beauty for us is that we’re a young group and we’re bringing in young players that are hungry,” Rodgers said. Also on Wednesday, Chelsea defeated fourth-tier Wycombe Wanderers 5-0, with Patrick Bamford, Izzy Brown (2), John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic on the score sheet. In Austria, Crystal Palace enjoyed a 13-1 romp at Grazer AK, with Stephen Dobbie grabbing four goals, and Glenn Murray, Joe Ledley and Jonathan Williams all netting twice. Yannick Bolasie, Jerome Thomas and Marouane Chamakh finished off the rout.
ENGLAND
Magpies sign striker Riviere
French forward Emmanuel Riviere has joined Newcastle United from AS Monaco for an undisclosed fee, the Premier League club said. “This is an important signing because the striking area is one we really had to improve,” British media quoted Newcastle manager Alan Pardew as saying. “We have looked at Emmanuel for a while and we know he will score goals for us.” Newcastle did not disclose the length of the deal the Martinique-born 24-year-old signed. “When the club spoke to me I said yes immediately. It was an easy decision,” Riviere said. “My dream was always to play in the Premier League and Newcastle have given me the opportunity.”
ARGENTINA
Pope Francis sent shirt
The FIFA World Cup runners-up have sent their compatriot, Pope Francis, a die-hard soccer fan, a jersey signed by the team, midfielder Maximiliano Rodriguez said on Wednesday on Twitter. The player posted a picture of himself holding up the sky blue and white jersey alongside national hero Lionel Messi, winner of the Golden Ball for the best player at the tournament. “This is the present the team sent to our Pope Francis,” Rodriguez wrote. Francis is known as a card-carrying member of Argentine club San Lorenzo, but the Vatican’s chief of ceremonies, Guillermo Karcher, said the pope had refrained from watching Sunday’s final in Rio de Janeiro as “a matter of neutrality.”
UNITED STATES
All-Star lineup announced
Eight players who took part in the World Cup have been named in Major League Soccer’s All-Star team for an exhibition clash with German club Bayern Munich, the league said on Wednesday. The All-Star team is dominated by members of the US national team who reached the round-of-16 in Brazil before losing 2-1 to Belgium. US captain Clint Dempsey is joined by World Cup teammates Michael Bradley, Graham Zusi, Kyle Beckerman, Matt Besler, DeAndre Yedlin, Omar Gonzalez and Nick Rimando, while former US striker Landon Donovan, 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry and Nigeria’s Obafemi Martins complete the team. The game is scheduled for Aug. 6 in Portland, Oregon.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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