LONDON: The awards and milestones continue to arrive thick and fast for Mohamed Salah after he was named the Premier League Player of the Month for the second time this season.
The Egyptian sensation scored four goals and contributed two assists in February to land the award ahead of Sergio Aguero, Mousa Dembele, Pascal Gross, Glenn Murray, Eden Hazard and Xherdan Shaqiri. Salah also won the award in November.
“The players make it easier and the coach also makes it easier for me,” Salah said. “It’s nice to win it again especially because it’s the Player of the Month of the Premier League, so that’s something good. I say always try to help reach the three points and to be in a better position.”
The gong is yet another addition to Salah’s trophy cabinet. He won the Arab Player of the Year earlier this year and then followed that up by landing the African Player of the Year. He also fired Egypt to the World Cup this season.
The forward, 25, has also been setting records for Liverpool since signing from Roma for for £34 million ($48 million). Last month he became the quickest Liverpool player to score 20 Premier League goals and also became only the fifth player to have scored 20 Premier League goals in a season for the Reds.
He has 32 goals this season in all competitions and is the Premier League’s joint-top scorer with Harry Kane on 24.
Mohamed Salah wins Premier League Player of the Month
Mohamed Salah wins Premier League Player of the Month
World number two Swiatek eliminated from WTA Finals group stage
- Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic beat American Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4
- Swiatek had kept her hopes alive by beating Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0
RIYADH: Poland’s Iga Swiatek will not successfully defend her WTA Finals title after being knocked out of the season-ending tournament in the group stage on Thursday.
Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic beat American Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4, meaning the 23-year-old Pole cannot now progress from the Orange Group to Friday’s semifinals.
Earlier on Thursday, Swiatek had kept her hopes alive by beating Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0.
But despite winning two of her three matches in the group, Swiatek’s defeat against world number three Gauff on Tuesday ultimately cost her.
The WTA Finals in Riyadh was Swiatek’s first tournament since she was knocked out of the US Open quarter-finals by Jessica Pegula in September.
The five-time Grand Slam winner is expected to end her season by representing her country at the Billie Jean King Cup from November 13-20 in Malaga, Spain.
Wimbledon champion Krejcikova will take on China’s Zheng Qinwen, while Gauff will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.
Fleetwood goes low to lead Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
- The golf tournament is the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs
- ‘I didn’t feel like I swung it perfectly early on and I actually felt like I started playing better as the round got to the back nine,’ Fleetwood said
ABU DHABI: English golfer Tommy Fleetwood carded course record-equalling 10 under par 62 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The Championship is the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs and penultimate event of the 2024 Race to Dubai.
Fleetwood, already a two-time winner of this tournament after claiming back-to-back victories in 2017 and 2018, carded eight birdies and an eagle on a low-scoring day at Yas Links to finish one stroke ahead of former Ryder Cup teammate Thorbjorn Olesen and America’s Johannes Veerman.
The 33-year-old, a seven-time DP World Tour winner, was four under after only three holes with a birdie, eagle, birdie start, and he made six further gains as he signed for a bogey-free round, rolling in a final birdie at the last to take the outright lead.
“Just happy to have got off to a great start. I didn’t feel like I swung it perfectly early on and I actually felt like I started playing better as the round got to the back nine,” Fleetwood said.
The wind picked up a little bit, the Englishman said, but overall it was fairly calm. “I think the course, fairways, are playing fast,” he said.
Fleetwood also has an eye on a second Race to Dubai title because he started the week in fifth place on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
A strong performance in Abu Dhabi would give him an outside chance of catching current rankings leader Rory McIlroy at next week’s DP World Tour Championship.
Denmark’s Olesen is seeking a second Rolex Series victory this week to follow from his 2018 Italian Open success. He won his eighth DP World Tour title earlier this year in the UAE, landing the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in January.
Olesen said: “With the conditions of the greens, if you putted really well, you can make a lot of putts. I’m very happy with that. There’s not that much breeze out there, so it definitely feels hot. I think maybe I’m a bit more used to it now after being out here for a couple of years.”
Moreover, Veerman, who won his maiden title at the 2021 D+D REAL Czech Masters, earned his place in the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs after finishing T8, T14 and T14 in his previous three starts. He carded eight birdies and an eagle to join Olesen on nine under par.
Veerman said: “It went just about as good as I would have hoped, maybe even better. I got off to a really fast start. The conditions on this course are pure so you’re never going to have a bad lie.”
Four-time Rolex Series winner Tyrrell Hatton shares fourth on eight under with fellow Englishmen Laurie Canter and Paul Waring and Italy’s Francesco Laporta.
McIlroy carded a five under par 67 to finish the day in a share of 18th place. The Northern Irishman will win the Race to Dubai for a sixth time if he finishes more than 2,000 ranking points ahead of his nearest challenger after this event.
“It’s nice to be paired with Thriston (Lawrence) and Rasmus (Hojgaard) because you can sort of keep an eye on what they are doing, as well. It’s been a really good year, very, very consistent,” he said.
Buoyant Inter gunning for leaders Napoli and Serie A summit
- Wednesday’s win came despite Inzaghi dropping five first-choice players with Napoli
- The defense of the Serie A title his clear priority in the early months of the season
MILAN: Inter Milan have top spot in Serie A in their sights as they host league leaders Napoli this weekend boosted by a gritty win over Arsenal in the Champions League.
Reigning champions Inter are a point behind Napoli and in buoyant mood ahead of Sunday’s clash at the San Siro after showing huge spirit to beat Arsenal 1-0 and continue their unbeaten start in Europe.
Simone Inzaghi’s team are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League and after four matches are two points behind leaders Liverpool in the new single league phase.
Wednesday’s win came despite Inzaghi dropping five first-choice players with Napoli and the defense of the Serie A title his clear priority in the early months of the season.
And Inter had to hold off wave after wave of Arsenal attacks in the second half after Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty in stoppage time of the opening period, claiming the win with the sort dogged defending which has been lacking in Serie A where they have conceded 13 times in 11 matches.
“It was a win earned through sacrifice, the only thing that mattered tonight was the result. I needed minutes, now I’m ready for Napoli,” said Calhanoglu who was excellent in his first start since recovering from a thigh injury and will guide Inter’s midfield on Sunday.
Inter will be at full strength after Nicolo Barella, Federico Dimarco, Marcus Thuram, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Francesco Acerbi all started the Arsenal win on the bench.
That is a daunting prospect for Napoli who have however had a week to prepare for Sunday’s clash and won at the San Siro against AC Milan as recently as last week.
Napoli have impressed by leading the league following last season’s disastrous defense of their first Scudetto since the days of Diego Maradona.
But Napoli were thumped 3-0 at home by dark horses Atalanta last weekend and questions remain over whether Antonio Conte’s side are ready to reclaim the title.
Conte, a practicing Catholic, said ahead of his team’s humbling at the hands of third-placed Atalanta that “football miracles can happen but only one person can make them happen.”
“All we can do is work hard and try to create something beautiful which in football terms translates into more points,” said Conte.
Mario Balotelli is set for more minutes with his new club Genoa who face Como at the unusual time of Thursday night, a rearrangement forced by an important rally race being held in the port city over the weekend.
Former Italy striker Balotelli made his Genoa debut off the bench late in last weekend’s 1-0 win at Parma which lifted Alberto Gilardino’s team out of the relegation zone, but his only contribution was getting booked.
In-form Fiorentina and Lazio, who are level on 22 points with Atalanta, face Verona and Monza respectively and have a chance to move level with Napoli before Sunday’s big match at the San Siro.
Juventus, who sit a point behind that trio in sixth, host local rivals Torino after drawing 1-1 at Lille on Tuesday.
Fresh from another stellar performance in Wednesday’s 2-0 win at Stuttgart, Lookman is in the form of his life as Atalanta host Udinese in Sunday’s lunchtime fixture with talk of a title challenge looking increasingly realistic.
Nigeria forward Lookman, the hat-trick hero of last season’s Europa League triumph, has scored eight goals and set up five more in 12 appearances this term.
His stunning performances, which have helped push Atalanta to within three points of Napoli, come after being dropped at the start of the season after pushing for a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
But the way he and attack partners Mateo Retegui and Charles De Ketelaere have been playing suggests that Lookman could just as likely scale new heights staying exactly where he is.
Thursday
Genoa v Como (1945)
Friday
Lecce v Empoli (1945)
Saturday
Venezia v Parma (1400), Cagliari v AC Milan (1700), Juventus v Torino (1945)
Sunday
Atalanta v Udinese (1130), Roma v Bologna, Fiorentina v Verona (1400), Monza v Lazio (1700), Inter Milan v Napoli (1945)
Mbappe left out of France squad for November internationals
- It is the second successive France squad from which the national team captain has been absent
- Mbappe was absent for France’s 4-1 win over Israel in Budapest and a 2-1 win in Belgium
PARIS: Kylian Mbappe has been left out of the France squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Israel and Italy after coach Didier Deschamps omitted the Real Madrid superstar from his list of players named on Thursday.
It is the second successive France squad from which the national team captain has been absent after he also missed the October double-header against Israel and Belgium.
The 25-year-old was rested for last month’s matches in order to help him recover from a minor thigh injury suffered playing for Real.
However, that quickly became a source of controversy when he returned to action for Real days later, before France had even played.
Mbappe was absent for France’s 4-1 win over Israel in Budapest and a 2-1 win in Belgium, and instead traveled to Stockholm for a short break with members of his entourage.
It was following that trip that Swedish media reported he was being investigated for an alleged rape. Mbappe himself said those reports were “fake news” while his lawyer said the player would take action for libel.
A Swedish prosecutor confirmed that an investigation had been opened, without naming Mbappe.
Since then, the ex-Paris Saint-Germain forward has made four appearances for his club, scoring one goal. However, he remains short of his explosive best form.
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen struggling to maintain heights of last season
- The aura of invincibility that Alonso built around the team have evaporated. But it’s not for want of trying
- “To win against top, top teams, you need to go through tough moments and suffer. We need to learn from this,” Alonso said after the loss in Liverpool
BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen are struggling to reach the high standards they set for themselves last season.
Xabi Alonso’s team have already dropped points in five of their nine Bundesliga games, while Tuesday’s 4-0 loss at Liverpool in the Champions League was already their second defeat of the season.
The late goals that characterized last season’s remarkable Bundesliga and German Cup campaigns — Leverkusen won both without losing a game — seem to have dried up.
Leverkusen have already conceded 15 goals in the Bundesliga. That’s only nine goals fewer than they conceded in the league over the whole of last season.
Though Leverkusen drew with Bayern Munich 1-1 away, they also failed to beat relegation candidates Holstein Kiel and Werder Bremen.
The aura of invincibility that Alonso built around the team have evaporated. But it’s not for want of trying. Before the Liverpool game, Leverkusen had 19 shots at goal in a scoreless draw against Stuttgart, which were second in the Bundesliga last season.
Missed chances have replaced late goals as the recurring issue, while defense is also a concern.
Granit Xhaka was scathing in his criticism of the last three goals his team conceded against Liverpool, suggesting the side’s intensity dropped after conceding the first, though the Swiss midfielder remained confident the team can recover.
“If we keep doing our thing, we’ll start winning games again,” Xhaka said.
Alonso, likewise, does not seem too worried by his team’s results.
“To win against top, top teams, you need to go through tough moments and suffer. We need to learn from this,” Alonso said after the loss in Liverpool.
Alonso opted to stay at Leverkusen despite a host of suitors reportedly keen on acquiring his services in the summer – including former clubs Bayern and Liverpool – and the Spanish coach hasn’t tinkered with or changed his title-winning approach.
The squad from last season remained largely intact over the summer. Central defender Odilon Kossounou left for Atalanta, with Leverkusen bringing Nordi Mukiele from Paris Saint-Germain as his replacement. Mukiele hasn’t played much so far.
It had looked like defensive chief Jonathan Tah was going to join Bayern, but the clubs failed to agree a transfer fee for a player whose Leverkusen contract is up at the end of this season. Tah has played every minute for the team so far.
Leverkusen are already seven points behind unbeaten Bayern in the Bundesliga. They next face a short trip to Bochum on Saturday, when new Bochum coach Dieter Hecking will hope to coax some improvement from a team that have lost eight of their nine games. Bochum have a point after a draw with Kiel in September.
