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.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
The US’ Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski women’s World Cup slalom in Flachau, Austria, on Tuesday. She won the slalom for the sixth time this season.
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