Liverpool on Wednesday extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to 13 points after a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United.
Liverpool took full advantage as second-placed Arsenal dropped more points in a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored in the 11th minute and Alexis Mac Allister netted just past the hour mark at Anfield to secure a 20th league win of the season from 28 games.
Photo: Reuters
Title success would see Liverpool equal Manchester United’s record haul of 20.
It all seems so easy for Liverpool right now. With their rivals faltering one by one, the Merseyside team keep edging closer to the title.
Not even the absence of coach Arne Slot from the sideline after he was handed a two-match suspension could halt his team’s progress.
Photo: AP
A goalless draw with Nottingham Forest highlighted Arsenal’s problems amid an injury crisis in attack, with the Londoners failing to score for the third time in four games.
Arsenal were linked with a move for Aston Villa’s OIlie Watkins at the end of the window, but ended up empty-handed. It looks like that will be the case in terms of their title pursuit after the draw saw them slip further adrift of Liverpool.
“We played well and were dominant through the whole games, but goals happen in the boxes,” Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard said. “We defended well, but up top we need to try and create more.”
Manchester City moved back up to fourth after Erling Haaland returned from a knee injury and scored in their 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur.
Ten-man Manchester United were given a scare by relegation-fighting Ipswich Town.
Trailing inside four minutes at Old Trafford after Jaden Philogene’s early goal, United bounced back to win 3-2, despite Patrick Dorgu’s red card in the 43rd minute.
Manchester United moved up to 14th — ahead of Everton, who drew 1-1 against Brentford.
Copa del Rey
AP
Kylian Mbappe’s replacement Endrick on Wednesday scored a first-half goal as Real Madrid won 1-0 against Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.
Madrid were without Mbappe after he had tooth removed and was forced to miss practice on Tuesday. The France star has scored six goals in his past five matches.
Endrick, an 18-year-old Brazil forward, scored in a breakaway after Jude Bellingham’s long pass.
“Endrick has helped us a lot,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “His goal was fantastic. He worked well up front and on defense as well. The team has been playing well.”
Coppa Italia
Reuters
Empoli on Wednesday knocked Juventus out of the Coppa Italia with a dramatic 4-2 penalty shoot-out win after a 1-1 draw in regular-time, leaving coach Thiago Motta ashamed by the Bianconeri’s shock exit.
Empoli initially led with a first-half goal by Youssef Maleh, while Juventus struggled to pose any serious threat before the interval, prompting Motta to criticize his side’s performance and urging his players to take responsibility.
“Shame. I feel shame for what we saw in the first half and I hope my players feel the same,” Motta told a news conference. “The attitude was shameful. Maybe I am wrong because I did not make the players understand the importance of this game and the importance of wearing the Juventus shirt. We made a mistake and that’s why we’re not in the semi-finals.”
After Khephren Thuram equalized for Juventus in the second half, the match went to penalties where Empoli emerged victorious 4-2.
Coupe de France
AP, PARIS
USL Dunkerque on Wednesday showed their fighting spirit once again, rallying from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against top-flight Stade Brestois 29 and reach the Coupe de France semi-finals.
The second-tier side had already knocked out Ligue 1 high-fliers Lille OSC in the previous round on penalty kicks after equalizing six minutes into stoppage-time in that game.
Holders Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 7-0 win against fourth-tier Stade Briochin in Wednesday’s other quarter-final, with striker Goncalo Ramos grabbing a hat-trick.
DFB-Pokal
AP, LEIPZIG, Germany
Benjamin Sesko’s penalty on Wednesday was enough for RB Leipzig to book the last semi-final spot in the DFB-Pokal with a 1-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg.
Leipzig, who won the competition in 2023, joined third-tier Arminia Bielefeld, VfB Stuttgart and defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the last four.
Wilyer Abreu watched the ball leave the park and tossed his bat high in the air. His Venezuela teammates streamed out of the dugout in celebration. The comeback was on and the win over the reigning World Baseball Classic (WBC) champion Japan was within reach. Japan, their 11-game WBC winning streak on the line, held a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning of Saturday’s thrilling quarter-final matchup when Abreu put his team ahead with the biggest swing of the game: a three-run shot off Hiromi Itoh that sent the loanDepot Park crowd into a passionate roar and helped seize Venezuela’s 8-5
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Home runs are greeted with a celebratory shot of espresso and the donning of an Armani jacket. Victories are marked with bottles of red wine while the soaring voice of opera singer Andrea Bocelli echoes through the locker room. Welcome to baseball, Italian-style. Written off as 80-1 underdogs before the World Baseball Classic started, Italy’s fairytale tournament has carried them all the way to today’s (Taipei time) semi-finals in Miami against Venezuela. On Saturday, Italy — who scored a stunning upset of a star-studded US lineup during the pool phase — kept their unbeaten campaign alive with a nail-biting 8-6
Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1’s second-youngest race winner with a composed drive to victory for Mercedes in an eventful Chinese Grand Prix yesterday. The 19-year-old Italian was the youngest pole position starter and briefly lost the lead to Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari at the start, but retook it soon after and was in control after that. “We did it! We did it!” Antonelli shouted to his team on the radio amid laughs and whoops. It was another 1-2 finish for Mercedes to start the season as Antonelli’s teammate George Russell came through a battle with both Ferraris to finish second. Lewis Hamilton was
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