Liverpool on Wednesday eased to a 3-0 win at Olympique de Marseille in the UEFA Champions League, as Harry Kane’s double earned Bayern Munich a 2-0 victory against Union Saint-Gilloise that secured a place in the last 16 for the German giants.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches in all competitions since a 4-1 hammering at home by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League in November last year.
Mohamed Salah made his first appearance for his club since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, but he was not among the scorers.
Photo: AFP
Instead it was Dominik Szoboszlai who got the breakthrough just before halftime with a clever free-kick that went under the wall.
“I did my homework and got told that if no one is lying down, then I can hit it under the wall. I tried it and it worked out,” the Hungarian said.
Hugo Ekitike hit the bar before the second goal arrived on 72 minutes when Jeremie Frimpong’s ball into the middle went in off goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
Substitute Cody Gakpo wrapped up the win at the death, leaving Liverpool fourth in the 36-team standings, and in a position to clinch a last-16 place by beating Qarabag next week.
Meanwhile, Bayern joined table-toppers Arsenal in guaranteeing a top-eight finish with a game to spare, and therefore a last-16 spot, as they saw off the Belgian champions at the Allianz Arena.
Newcastle United were too strong for PSV at St James’ Park, running out 3-0 winners after Yoane Wissa got an early opener and Anthony Gordon made it two on the half-hour. Harvey Barnes then fired in the third on 65 minutes, and Newcastle are in the top eight before completing the league phase away to reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain next week.
Chelsea are eighth after edging out Cypriot minnows Pafos 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, while Barcelona are among the teams involved in the fight for direct last-16 access after they came from behind to defeat Slavia Prague 4-2.
Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 away to Galatasaray in Istanbul, and Atalanta BC’s top-eight hopes were hit as they lost 3-2 at home to Athletic Bilbao.
Juventus continued their Champions League recovery with a third straight European win, beating SL Benfica 2-0, while surprise package Qarabag are on course to make the playoffs after beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 in Baku.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
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