LONDON: Rampant Liverpool beat Bournemouth 3-0 to lock down the Christmas number one spot ahead of Saturday’s Manchester derby as Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham blitzed Burnley 5-0 to climb to fifth in the table.
Interim boss Duncan Ferguson lifted Everton’s spirits, condemning Chelsea to their third Premier League defeat in four matches while bottom club Watford battled to a goalless draw against Crystal Palace.
Liverpool took advantage of playing before their closest rivals to widen the gulf at the top of the table to 11 points, meaning they cannot be caught by December 25.
Jurgen Klopp, mindful of a fixture pile-up for his side, made seven changes from the 5-2 midweek victory against Everton, with Sadio Mane dropping to the bench and Alisson Becker back in goal following suspension.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opened the scoring for the European champions in the 35th minute after poking home Jordan Henderson’s long ball, moments after Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake left the pitch injured.
Liverpool made it 2-0 just before the break when Naby Keita played a fine one-two with Mohamed Salah and finished from close range, with Keita turning provider for Salah in the 54th minute.
It was Liverpool’s first clean sheet in any match since late September.
“It is not about being constantly exciting, it is about doing the right stuff,” Klopp told Sky Sports. “There were not a lot of difficult moments to defend and that is good, important. Nearly a perfect day.
“I don’t want to blame or whatever the groups I had before but this is a special group. Without that we have no chance to fulfil the Liverpool dreams. You need a strong character and this team has a strong character.”
Spurs lost their first match under new boss Mourinho at Old Trafford in midweek but flew out of the blocks at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
Harry Kane put them ahead with his 14th goal of the season in the fourth minute and Spurs doubled their lead when Lucas Moura tapped home at the far post following a goalmouth scramble.
Son Heung-min added a third with a brilliant solo effort shortly after the half-hour, running from deep in his own half before slotting past goalkeeper Nick Pope.
Kane made it 4-0 in the 54th minute with his second goal of the game and turned provider for Moussa Sissoko to score Spurs’ fifth.
Spurs are still six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea but will fancy their chances of closing the gap on their London rivals, who are stumbling after a six-game winning run earlier in the season.
“A perfect day,” Mourinho told the BBC. “No injuries, a clean sheet, goals, perfect football, kids coming on for first Premier League football.
“Sean Dyche is always honest and told me after the game we were too good for them. I thank him for that.”
Everton made it a miserable day for Frank Lampard’s Chelsea thanks to an early strike from Brazil forward Richarlison and two goals from England under-21 international Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Mateo Kovacic scored his first Premier League goal to pull the score back to 2-1 but the Toffees wrapped up victory six minutes from time, Calvert-Lewin latching on to a loose ball in the box to finish underneath Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Former Everton player Ferguson, who celebrated the goals wildly, refused to talk up his chances of getting the job full-time despite the win, telling BT Sport: “I’m here for Everton. I’m here for as long as they want me here.
“I’m sure they’re out there looking for other candidates, and rightly so. We want the best guys in the world managing our football club.”
Watford, who appointed former Leicester boss Nigel Pearson as their new manager on Friday, were unable to force their second win of the season, drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, in third place, 14 points behind Liverpool, faced Manchester United at the Etihad in the late kick-off on Saturday.
Second-placed Leicester are in action on Sunday, away to Aston Villa, while struggling Arsenal travel to West Ham the following day.
Liverpool seal Christmas No.1 spot as Tottenham run riot
Liverpool seal Christmas No.1 spot as Tottenham run riot
- Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores their third goal against Bournemouth
- Son Heung-min scores with amazing solo effort in rout of Burnley
F1 champion Max Verstappen takes pole for Qatar Grand Prix
The Red Bull driver had forecast he would continue to struggle for pace after a disappointing showing in the earlier sprint race, but late set-up changes enabled him to clock a fastest lap in one minute and 20.520 seconds.
Russell was second for Mercedes just 0.055 seconds adrift of pole ahead of Norris, who needed a late lap to grab third for McLaren, 0.252 off the pace, ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was sixth in the second Mercedes ahead of Carlos Sainz, in the second Ferrari, two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Sergio Perez, in the second Red Bull.
Kevin Magnussen was 10th for Haas.
It was Verstappen’s career 41st pole and his ninth of the season.
“I didn’t expect that,” said Verstappen. “Honestly! But well done to the team to give me a car that feels a bit more connected — and once the car is a bit more together you feel you can push harder.”
The final seconds of the session saw Verstappen criticized by Russell for running too slowly in front of him.
“Super-dangerous by Verstappen,” said the Mercedes driver, whose thoughts prompted the stewards to investigate.
“I ended up going through the gravel and all over the floor it felt like it was scraping,” said Russell.
Norris admitted his disappointment at missing out on a front row start.
“It’s not what we hoped for, but it was the maximum we could do. My lap was pretty good, but not quick enough.”
Hamilton, set for Ferrari next year, finished sixth, admitting: “I don’t really care. I just want to get through these races, do my job, turn up and look forward to the winter break.”
After the early laps, Verstappen led before Russell went top in 1:21.519, a time that was seven-tenths quicker than Hamilton’s best as he struggled to extract matching pace on his way to ninth.
With four minutes to go, Russell offered Hamilton a tow which lifted him to sixth, 0.118 off the pace in a tight field before Russell trimmed two-tenths off his best lap in 1:21.241, beating Leclerc by 0.037 with Sainz third ahead of Norris.
Out went Alex Albon and his Williams team-mate Franco Colapinto along with Liam Lawson of RB, Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
Russell began Q3 in the same style, clocking 1:21.161, but his top spot was quickly taken by Verstappen in 1:21.085, Red Bull’s set-up changes, following the sprint, paying dividends.
On his second run, Russell improved to go top again by 0.001 seconds, but it was not enough in improving conditions to resist a revitalized Verstappen, or Norris, who clocked 1:20.983.
It looked solid for McLaren, but in a final flurry of laps Verstappen went top in 1:20.687 with Hamilton rising to fifth, within 0.026 of Russell in fourth, and Alonso and Magnussen claiming top ten spots.
The ‘top 10 shootout’ began with Russell topping the pile in 1:20.575 ahead of Leclerc on their opening runs when Norris ran off at Turn Five and failed to clock a time before Verstappen slotted into second.
This left McLaren in need of a strong late lap in the final seconds as they all ran again and Verstappen, against his own forecasts, secured pole ahead of Russell and Norris — his first pole since the Austrian Grand Prix in June.
Milinkovic-Savic gets Al-Hilal back to winning ways
- Milinkovic-Savic lined up a free-kick just next to the ‘D’ and then curled the ball over the wall perfectly and into the top corner
RIYADH: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was the hero as Al-Hilal came from behind to win 2-1 at Al-Shabab on Saturday and move back to within two points of Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Ittihad.
It was a dramatic Riyadh Derby with both teams reduced to ten men but thanks to the intervention of the Serbian midfielder, who scored both goals, a poor week for the champions ended on a winning note.
They feared the worst in the sixth minute when Abderrazak Hamdallah struck to put Al-Shabab ahead. Daniel Podence broke down the right and his looping cross eluded three defenders but the Moroccan forward found his space and stopped to find his spot past the diving Yassine Bounou for his fifth goal of the season.
Just eight minutes later however, Hilal were level. This time it was Joao Cancelo who supplied the –more delicate – cross from the right and there was Milinkovic-Savic to nod home from close range.
Hamdallah looked to have restored Shabab’s lead just after the half hour but the goal was ruled out for offside. A minute before the break however, Al-Hilal were reduced to ten men as former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly was shown a straight red for bringing down Hamdallah as he was bearing down on goal.
The one-man advantage did not last long as two yellow cards in the first 15 minutes of the second half saw Nader Al-Sharari dismissed and Al-Shabab reduced to ten.
Two minutes after the hour, Al-Hilal were ahead. Milinkovic-Savic lined up a free-kick just next to the ‘D’ and then curled the ball over the wall perfectly and into the top corner.
After throwing away a 2-0 lead a week earlier to lose 3-2 to Al-Khaleej, Al-Hilal held on to this one to move on to 31 points from 12 games, two behind Al-Ittihad who, earlier in the day, won 4-0 at Ettifaq.
Musiala saves Bayern from Klassiker defeat in draw at Dortmund in Bundesliga
- Leroy Sané fired the ball into the Dortmund wall of defenders and Michael Olize sent the loose ball back in for the unmarked Musiala
- It was the first goal Bayern conceded in eight games across all competitions
BERLIN: Jamal Musiala scored late to save Bayern Munich from their first Bundesliga loss of the season with a 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund in “der Klassiker” on Saturday.
Musiala – Bayern’s best attacking threat after Harry Kane went off with a first-half injury – headed the equalizer in the 85th minute after a Bayern free kick.
Leroy Sané fired the ball into the Dortmund wall of defenders and Michael Olize sent the loose ball back in for the unmarked Musiala.
Jamie Gittens provided the highlight of the first half when he left Konrad Laimer in his wake and raced clear before blasting the ball past Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal in the 27th.
It was the first goal Bayern conceded in eight games across all competitions.
Kane went off with an apparent right hamstring injury shortly afterward.
Bayern mounted unrelenting pressure after the break with the Dortmund defenders increasingly content just to kick the ball away. The visitors kept pushing until Musiala duly scored.
Wirtz to the rescue
Florian Wirtz again made the difference for Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-1 win at Union Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso initially rested his star player, but sent Wirtz on for the last half-hour with the score 1-1. Wirtz duly whipped in a brilliant cross for Patrik Schick to score the winner with his chest in the 71st minute.
It was the third straight game that Wirtz has set up a goal in the Bundesliga.
Leipzig humiliated
Leipzig, already five games without a win across all competitions, were humiliated 5-1 at home by Wolfsburg, a defeat that left coach Marco Rose in a tenuous position at the energy drink-backed club.
Wolfsburg piled on the pressure with two goals in two minutes by the fifth minute, before Algerian forward Mohammed Amoura got his second in the 16th.
There were whistles from the home fans after the goals, and again at the break after their team failed to muster a response.
It got worse after the break with Joakim Maehle heading Wolfsburg’s fourth.
Leipzig captain Willi Orban urged his teammates to fight when he pulled one back in the 82nd, but Wolfsburg substitute Kevin Behrens had the final say in stoppage time.
Demirović double
Ermedin Demirović equalized twice for Stuttgart to draw at Werder Bremen 2-2, Freiburg won against visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1, and Augsburg defeated last-placed Bochum 1-0 at home.
Saka stars in Arsenal rout at West Ham as Van Nistelrooy watches new team Leicester lose
- Saka was one of five different scorers for Arsenal at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday
- A day after being hired as Leicester manager, Ruud van Nistelrooy witnessed at first hand the scale of his task to keep the team in the Premier League
LONDON: Inspired by Bukayo Saka, Arsenal scored five goals in a wild first half at West Ham before settling for a 5-2 win that lifted the team into second place in the English Premier League in its bid to chase down Liverpool.
Saka was one of five different scorers for Arsenal at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday and also had a hand in three goals, by Gabriel, Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard. Kai Havertz netted the other goal for Arsenal in its biggest league victory this season.
Since returning from the international break, Arsenal has beaten Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League, Sporting Lisbon 5-1 in the Champions League and put another five goals past West Ham. The prolific run has coincided with the return to fitness of Odegaard, Arsenal’s playmaker and captain who missed two months with an ankle injury.
Arsenal trimmed the gap to Liverpool to six points ahead of the leader’s home match against beleaguered Manchester City on Sunday. Arsenal has been beaten to the title by City in each of the last two seasons but might be wanting Pep Guardiola ‘s team to pull off a victory at Anfield.
Saka, especially, is benefitting from Odegaard’s presence. The England winger already has 10 assists for the campaign — having played 12 of Arsenal’s 13 games — along with five goals.
All of the goals in the match were in the first half. It’s just the fourth time since the Premier League began in 1992 that seven goals were scored in a game before halftime.
Van Nistelrooy’s task
A day after being hired as Leicester manager, Ruud van Nistelrooy witnessed at first hand the scale of his task to keep the team in the Premier League.
Leicester was beaten at Brentford 4-1 on Saturday, with Van Nistelrooy sitting in the stands rather than in the dugout. He officially takes over as coach on Sunday after arriving as the replacement for the fired Steve Cooper.
Kevin Schade scored a hat trick and Yoane Wissa also netted for Brentford, which had to come from behind after Facunda Buonanotte’s 21st-minute opener.
Van Nistelrooy, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker, will begin his first full-time managerial role in English soccer with Leicester in 16th place in the 20-team league and just one point above the relegation zone.
“We just had the messages last night (from Van Nistelrooy) when the appointment was made,” said Leicester first-team coach Ben Dawson, who took charge of the team against Brentford. “He wished everyone good luck and the plan is to catch up tomorrow at the training ground.”
Penalty record
Some history was made when Justin Kluivert converted a trio of penalties — in the third, 18th and 74th minutes — for Bournemouth in its 4-2 win at Wolverhampton. That had never been achieved before in a league game.
Kluivert said it was “amazing” to go into the history books but he was almost denied the opportunity.
“I was not completely sure I should allow him to take the third one,” Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola said. “It is difficult I suppose, every time you shoot the first one, you give information to the keeper.”
Evanilson won each of the three penalties converted by Kluivert — and that was also a first in the Premier League.
Double blow
Newcastle lost Sweden striker Alexander Isak to a hip injury midway through the first half and then its lead in the fourth minute of stoppage time in a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
Daniel Munoz scored the late equalizer to lift Palace out of the bottom three on goal difference.
“It’s an absolutely devastating blow for us,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said of giving up the late goal.
On Isak, Howe added: “It was a contact injury and not a muscle pull, which is good news for us. We hope he will recover quickly.”
Chris Wood smashed a penalty down the middle for his eighth goal of the season to earn Nottingham Forest a 1-0 win at home to Ipswich.
Shahzaib Khan’s brilliant 159 powers Pakistan Under-19 to 43-run victory over India
- Khan’s extraordinary performance anchored Pakistan’s innings, helped them post 281 for 7
- In reply, India were bundled out for 238 in 47.1 overs despite a fighting 67 by Nikhil Kumar
ISLAMABAD: Opener Shahzaib Khan’s scintillating 159 powered Pakistan Under-19 to a 43-run victory over arch-rivals India in a Group A match of the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Shahzaib’s knock, spanning 147 balls and featuring five fours and 10 sixes, anchored Pakistan’s innings as they posted 281 for 7 in 50 overs.
India, in reply, were bundled out for 238 in 47.1 overs despite a fighting 67 by Nikhil Kumar.
The Mansehra-born opener shared a 160-run stand with Usman Khan (60 off 94 balls), setting a solid platform. Their partnership came on the back of impressive recent form, with Shahzaib and Usman scoring 330 and 314 runs, respectively, in a tri-series against Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates.
“There was a lot of seam movement, and the fast bowlers were getting good support,” Khan said after the match. “But after spending some time at the crease, when the spinners came on, I focused on dispatching deliveries in my range to the boundary.”
“By God’s grace, it worked out for me today,” he added.
Khan continued to dominate with a 71-run third-wicket stand with Muhammad Riazullah (27). Pakistan accelerated late in the innings, adding 74 runs in the last 10 overs, as captain Saad Baig’s decision to bat first paid off.
India’s Samarth Nagaraj was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3-45, while Ayush Mhatre chipped in with 2-30.
India started their chase positively but lost early wickets. Abdul Subhan dismissed Mhatre (20) in the fourth over, while Ali Raza removed Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the next spell, leaving the team reeling at 28 for 2.
Usman Khan and Faham-ul-Haq continued to build pressure, reducing India to 81 for 4.
A 53-run partnership between Nikhil Kumar and Kiran Chormale (20) briefly revived India, but Faham broke the stand by dismissing Chormale.
Kumar’s valiant 77-ball 67 ended when he was caught off Naveed Ahmed Khan at 174, dashing India’s hopes of a recovery.
Ali Raza’s 3-36 led the bowling for Pakistan, with Abdul Subhan (2-45) and Faham-ul-Haq (2-41) providing crucial support.
Pakistan will next face the UAE on December 2 at the same venue.
