NORWICH: No wins from the opening 14. Ten from their last 14. There’s a remarkable symmetry to Newcastle United’s topsy-turvy Premier League season and, after another comfortable win at Norwich City, for Eddie Howe, the trajectory remains very much an upward one.
With a backdrop of green and yellow, United’s Brazilian contingent stole the show at Carrow Road as Newcastle’s $52 million duo Joelinton, then Bruno Guimaraes, netted the goals that sent the Magpies to ninth position in the Premier League table.
Ninth, to many, may not seem all that significant. But, given United started the calendar year in 19th with just 11 points to their name, today felt very much like a moment for Howe and his players.
Head coach Howe hinted at changes in his pre-match press conference — and changes are exactly what he delivered, with four starting XI adjustments raising a few eyebrows.
Out went Crystal Palace match-winner Miguel Almiron along with Jonjo Shelvey, Chris Wood, and Fabian Schar. In came Jacob Murphy, Sean Longstaff, Jamaal Lascelles, and Joe Willock.
It was a disjointed start by United with Howe putting now regular midfielder Joelinton up top as a central striker — a role he has rarely occupied this campaign. Chances came and went for both sides in a frenetic opening, with little in the way of quality and plenty in the way of scrap.
Former Canaries winger Murphy went close with a looping volley, having been found by man of the moment Guimaraes.
At the other end, cut open on the break, United were lucky not to fall behind when Teemu Pukki rounded Martin Dubravka, then found Kieran Dowell, who hammered over the top with the goal at his mercy.
Sensing things weren’t going Newcastle’s way, Howe tweaked the system — and it paid instant dividends.
Moving Allan Saint-Maximin into a striker role and putting Joelinton out left was a masterstroke and, within 11 first-half minutes, the landscape dramatically shifted from one of level uncertainty to United two-goal dominance.
The first goal came when Murphy burst in from the right past the hapless Dimitris Giannoulis and squared for Saint-Maximin, who then laid on to Joelinton who nearly fired through the net via the underside of the bar in emphatic fashion.
What a way to mark an impressive milestone — his 100th Premier League start — for United, especially when you’ve not exactly been lauded for your goals. And, he wasn’t finished there as he made it 2-0 soon after, with Murphy again instrumental.
A Guimaraes through ball was latched on to by Murphy and as he pulled the trigger, a block challenge from former United man Grant Hanley squirmed out to Joelinton, who did with his left what he so impressively did with his right 11 minutes earlier.
Strangely, both goals came largely out of the blue, with United not having things all their own way. The second half wasn’t to be so even, though, as the Magpies put their foot on the pedal.
And an unforced error made it three goals to the good just after the break as Tim Krul, a custodian between the sticks for United for more than a decade, gift-wrapped one for Guimaraes.
A pass intended for his central midfield was anticipated by the razor-sharp Brazilian, and the finish, a dinked chip over Krul, put the icing on the cake for Newcastle.
From then on in it was party time for United as each pass was greeted by an “ole” from the 2,600-strong traveling contingent, and Newcastle’s stars from South America were serenaded with laments that will last the night away on the trains, planes and automobiles back to Tyneside.
The win saw Newcastle climb from 11th to ninth, even if only until Brighton & Hove Albion play Southampton on Sunday. A win for the Seagulls would see United drop back down to 10th. Even considering that, never mind stating it as fact, would seem like lunacy just a few short months ago.
What Howe and United’s players are proving, week-in, week-out now in the top flight, is that anything seems possible at St. James’ Park under the ownership of PIF and the positivity garnered from that changeover in ownership.
And while the plan is very much of a steady build on Tyneside under Saudi tutelage off the field, those plans are being accelerated by actions on it.
The idea may well have been to make sure a top 10 place was a must at Newcastle next season, having fought much of the campaign with the relegation-threatened at the foot of the table. However, this team might well do that this season.
So, what next? It seems ill-guided to doubt whether Howe and his players will mount a European challenge in 2022/23. Sadly, the charge from January onward, in which United’s form is only bettered by Liverpool, has come maybe a month too late to make a return to the continent for next season.
Victory at Norwich continues Newcastle’s remarkable turnaround in form under Eddie Howe
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Victory at Norwich continues Newcastle’s remarkable turnaround in form under Eddie Howe
- After another comfortable win at Norwich City, for Eddie Howe, the trajectory remains very much an upward one
- Chances came and went for both sides in a frenetic opening, with little in the way of quality and plenty in the way of scrap
Naomi Osaka wins her first match of new season in a return from injury
- Naomi Osaka beats qualifier Lina Glushko 6-4, 6-4 in a tight contest in her first match since October
- Four-time Grand Slam champion had to deal with a swirling wind on center court and with delays in play
WELLINGTON: Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka made a winning return to the court after an almost three month absence Monday in the first round of the ASB tennis classic in Auckland, undeterred by protests outside the stadium against her Israeli opponent.
Osaka beat qualifier Lina Glushko 6-4, 6-4 in a tight contest in her first match since October when a back injury at the China Open ended her 2024 season.
All the hallmarks of Osaka’s game were present Monday: the powerful serve, forceful ground-strokes particularly from the forehand side and the aggression. She looked relaxed and comfortable on court with no sign of her recent injury.
Osaka had to deal with a swirling wind on center court and with delays in play caused by the chants of a small group of protesters which were clearly audible within the stadium. There was a longer break as Osaka was poised to serve out the first set when Glushko had to leave the court for treatment to a hip injury.
“I just heard a lot of shouting, and then people on the sidelines were telling me there was protests,” Osaka said.
“I had no idea what the score was most of the time. “I just kept trying to tell myself one point at a time and trying not to get discouraged.
“Thankfully it came out in my favor in the end.”
Osaka was supported at courtside by her new coach Patrick Mouratoglou who previously had a long-term association with Serena Williams.
She broke Glushko in the third game of the first set and held comfortably to win 6-4.
The second set was tighter. Osaka broke Glushko in the third game but Glushko converted her only break point of the match to level at 2-2.
Glushko held to love in the seventh game to lead 4-3 but Osaka seemed to step up at that point, held with two aces for 4-4, broke for 5-4 and held serve to love to clinch the win.
Her serve was solid throughout. She sent down seven aces and won 74 percent of first serve points. Her first serve averaged around 180kmh (111mph) and her slice around 140kmh (87mph).
“I think she’s a really amazing opponent. I’ve never played her before,” Osaka said. “It was good to have to scrap a little for the first round.”
Haliburton shines as Pacers avenge blowout loss to Celtics
- Cole Anthony drove for the game-winning layup as the Magic erased a 21-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-101
- Miami’s Tyler Herro scored a game-high 27 points before he was ejected in a bench-clearing brawl that saw six people tossed in the waning seconds of the Heat’s 104-100 victory over the Rockets
LOS ANGELES: Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points as the Pacers turned the tables on the NBA champion Celtics with a confident 123-114 victory in Boston on Sunday.
Two days after Jaylen Brown’s 44 points propelled the Celtics to a 142-105 blowout victory over the Pacers Indiana got their revenge.
Haliburton added six rebounds and seven assists without a turnover and six players scored in double figures for Indiana, whose lights-out shooting in the second quarter saw them seize a seven-point halftime lead that they would push to as many as 16.
Brown stayed hot, delivering 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting with six assists. Jayson Tatum added 22 points with nine rebounds and six assists.
Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard scored 17 points each for Indiana, Nembhard adding eight rebounds and eight assists as he returned after missing Friday’s game with left knee tendinitis.
Nembhard said maintaining their pace in the fourth quarter — when Boston cut an 11-point deficit to two with 7:38 to play, was key for Indiana.
“I think that was the biggest thing we did late in the game,” he said. “We kept pace in the game. We didn’t slow it down and worry about the score too much.”
In Orlando, Cole Anthony drove for the game-winning layup as the Magic erased a 21-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-101.
Tristan da Silva scored 21 points to lead the injury-ravaged Magic. Goga Bitadze added 19 and Anthony scored five of his 10 in the fourth quarter as Orlando closed the game on a 22-4 scoring run.
Cam Thomas, back after missing 13 games with a hamstring strain, came off the bench and led Brooklyn’s scoring with 25 points but missed a jump shot as time expired.
Anthony admitted that da Silva, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, was supposed to get the ball on the play that yielded his game winner.
When that failed to pan out, he said, “I’m like, alright, I’m gonna go get a layup!“
The Nets were without veteran Dorian Finney-Smith, who was traded along with Shake Milton to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday in a deal that sent D’Angelo Russell to Brooklyn.
Miami’s Tyler Herro scored a game-high 27 points before he was ejected in a bench-clearing brawl that saw six people tossed in the waning seconds of the Heat’s 104-100 victory over the Rockets in Houston.
The Heat were up 99-94 when Rockets reserve Amen Thompson flung Herro to the court with 35.7 seconds remaining.
Both players, who had been jostling for position before an inbounds pass, were ejected, along with Miami’s Terry Rozier and Houston guard Jalen Green, Rockets coach Ime Udoka and his assistant Ben Sullivan.
Houston’s Fred VanVleet had been ejected with 47 seconds remaining in an unrelated incident.
In a game that featured 13 lead changes, the Rockets led by seven with 8:10 to play.
Herro’s basket with 1:56 remaining put Miami up 95-94 and they pulled away to win amid the closing chaos.
In Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points to fire the Western Conference-leading Thunder to a 130-106 victory over the injury-hit Memphis Grizzlies.
Gilgeous-Alexander was an efficient 14 of 19 from the floor with six rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots and with the game in hand sat out most of the fourth quarter.
Atlanta’s Trae Young posted a double-double of 34 points and 10 assists as the Hawks handed the Toronto Raptors a 10th straight defeat, 136-107.
Young made seven of the Hawks’ 18 three-pointers, his efforts from beyond the arc matching the Raptors’ total of three-pointers.
De’Andre Hunter added 22 points off the bench for the Hawks who won their fourth straight and spoiled the season debut of Toronto’s Bruce Brown after his recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery.
Pakistan announces squad for ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia
- Pakistan will play their opening match on January 18 against USA
- This will be followed by encounter against England on January 20
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has named a 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025, with wicketkeeper-batter Komal Khan leading the national side.
Zoofishan Ayyaz will be vice-captain of the Pakistan team during the 16-team tournament, which is set to be played in Malaysia from January 18 till February 2.
There are four groups in the tournament, with each group consisting of four teams each, according to the format. Pakistan are placed in Group B alongside England, Ireland and USA.
“Pakistan team, which recently featured in six-team ACC U19 Women’s Asia Cup in Malaysia, will undergo a training camp at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Center in Karachi from 31 December to 9 January,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.
“The team will depart for Malaysia from Karachi via Dubai on 10 January.”
Pakistan will play their opening match on January 18 against USA. This will be followed by the encounter against England on January 20, while Pakistan’s last group match will be against Ireland on January 22, according to the PCB.
“All three matches will be staged at the JCA Oval, Johor in Malaysia,” the board said.
After the conclusion of the Group Stage fixtures, three teams from each group will qualify for the Super Six. The bottom-ranked sides from Groups A and D, and B and C will contest in last place play-off on 24 January.
The 12 teams, which will qualify for the Super Six stage will be divided into two groups. Group one will include the top three teams each from Group A and Group D while Group two will have top three teams each from Group B and Group C.
In the Super Six stage every team will carry forward their wins, points and Net Run-rate (NRR) which is secured against their fellow Super Six qualifying teams. Each team will play two games in the Super Six stage.
The top two sides from the two super six stage groups will qualify for the semifinals. The semifinals are set to take place on January 31, while the final of the tournament will be played at Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur on February 2.
Pakistan squad:
Komal Khan (captain), Zoofishan Ayyaz (vice-captain), Aleesa Mukhtiar, Areesha Ansari, Fatima Khan, Haniah Ahmer, Maham Anees, Mahnoor Zeb, Memoona Khalid, Minahil, Quratulain, Ravail Farhan, Shahar Bano, Tayyaba Imdad and Wasifa Hussain
Antonio Conte has Napoli back atop Serie A to end 2024 after miserable title defense last season
- Juventus and Fiorentina drew 2-2 in a match that was briefly suspended because of discriminatory chants aimed at Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic
- AC Milan drew 1-1 with visiting Roma
ROME: Napoli went through three different coaches during their Serie A title defense last season and ended the campaign in 10th place.
Antonio Conte was hired in July and now Napoli are ending 2024 level with Atalanta atop the Italian league again.
Substitute Giacomo Raspadori scored a late goal and Napoli beat relegation-threatened Venezia 1-0 on Sunday in their final match of the year.
Napoli trail Atalanta only on goal difference but both teams are one point ahead of defending champions Inter Milan, who have a game in hand.
“Even if I play cards with my daughter I want to win,” said Conte, who was hired to get Napoli back into the Champions League. “Personally, I don’t accept minimal goals. But we all know where we started and what the club’s objectives are.”
Atalanta drew 1-1 at Lazio on Saturday and Inter won 3-0 at Cagliari.
Also Sunday, Juventus and Fiorentina drew 2-2 in a match that was briefly suspended because of discriminatory chants aimed at Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic; and AC Milan drew 1-1 with visiting Roma.
After Luciano Spalletti coached Napoli to the Serie A title in 2022-23, Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona managed the team last season, when the Partenopei finished a whopping 41 points behind Inter.
“What happened is in the past. The present is what counts,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “It’s great to be back on top but there’s still a long way to go.”
Napoli had struggled to get the ball past Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stankovic, the son of former Lazio and Inter standout Dejan Stankovic. But Raspadori broke the deadlock in the 79th when he used one touch to fire in a loose ball from the center of the area less than 10 minutes after he came on.
“These are tough matches where it means a lot to come away with three points,” Raspadori said. “We know we’re on the right path.”
In the first half, Stankovic saved a penalty kick from Romelu Lukaku. Then in the second half Stankovic deflected a shot from Lukaku off the post.
Napoli produced 25 shots to Venezia’s four.
Napoli’s 27 goals scored are the least among the top six teams in the standings.
“The squad is improving under every point of view. We just need to score more goals,” Conte said.
Discriminatory chants aimed at Vlahovic prompt brief suspension
Discriminatory chants aimed at Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic by visiting Fiorentina fans prompted a two-minute suspension during the first half.
Vlahovic, a Serbia international who played for Fiorentina before transferring to Juventus three years ago, appeared to tell the referee about the chants. The ref then stopped play, gathered the teams and ordered a warning announcement to be made over the stadium’s public address system.
The announcement said that the match would be suspended definitively if there were more discriminatory chants.
Play then resumed.
Khephren Thuram put Juventus ahead midway through the first half. Former Juventus striker Moise Kean equalized before the break with his 15th goal across all competitions this season. Thuram added another in the second half and Fiorentina equalized again with a volley from Riccardo Sottil in the 87th.
Juventus and Fiorentina are both nine points behind the leaders.
Juventus is the only unbeaten team in the league but the Bianconeri have drawn more matches (11) than they’ve won (seven).
At the San Siro, Tijjani Reijnders put Milan ahead early on and Paulo Dybala equalized for Roma. Under-pressure Milan coach Paulo Fonseca was sent off for protests at the end of the first half.
Earlier, Torino came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Udinese.
Feels like 1979: Nottingham Forest moves into 2nd place behind rampant Liverpool in Premier League
- Forest was runner-up behind Liverpool in the English top tier in 1979
The Premier League table is starting to have a 1979 kind of feel to it — with Liverpool at the top of the standings and Nottingham Forest in second place as the closest challenger.
Liverpool padded its lead with a 5-0 rout of West Ham on Sunday, while upstart Nottingham Forest climbed into second place by beating Everton 2-0 to continue its surprising push for a Champions League place.
Forest was runner-up behind Liverpool in the English top tier in 1979 – the same year it won the first of two straight European Cups under Brian Clough – but hasn’t finished that high in the domestic first division since then.
The club’s long-suffering fans finally have reason to believe that the good times are back under Nuno Espirito Santo. Although the Portuguese manager was the first to point out that his team may not stay in second place for very long.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Nuno said of his team’s position. “We haven’t achieved anything yet.”
Forest could find itself back in fourth place by Jan. 1 as it is only one point above Arsenal and two ahead of Chelsea, with both London clubs having a game in hand.
Liverpool could prove a lot harder to overtake, though, as Arne Slot’s team only seems to be growing stronger and stronger.
The performance at West Ham was one of its most impressive yet, with five different players getting on the scoresheet — including Mohamed Salah, who netted the team’s third for his league-leading 17th of the season.
Salah also had an assist to take his tally to 52 goal contributions in all competitions for the calendar year 2024 — 29 goals and 23 assists.
Salah was asked after the match if he would soon have good news for fans about his future beyond the end of this season, when his contract expires. The Egyptian told Sky Sports: “No, we are far away from that.”
“The only thing on my mind is I want Liverpool to win the league and I want to be part of that,” Salah said. “I will do my best for the team to win the trophy. There is a few other teams catching up with us and we need to stay focused and humble and go again.”
Liverpool is nine points ahead of Arsenal and 10 above Chelsea, with all three teams having played 18 games.
Manchester City is 14 points back having played 19 games, after beating Leicester 2-0 away.
Guardiola marks milestone with win
In his 500th game in charge of Man City, Pep Guardiola had some reasons to smile again.
City marked Guardiola’s milestone with a win and a goal from Erling Haaland — things that the Spaniard used to take for granted but have been increasingly rare of late for the struggling four-time defending Premier League champions.
Savinho also netted his first goal for the club in a much-needed win, although the team still looked far from the juggernaut that has dominated English soccer for much of the Spaniard’s reign.
Leicester had several chances for an equalizer before Savinho set up Haaland for the second in the 74th as City ended a five-game winless run in all competitions.
“Just relief, that is the word to express how all of us feel,” Guardiola said. “It was not the ideal performance but hopefully the victories will give our mood a better position. ... Hopefully in the new year we can bounce back a bit from a bad moment.”
This was only the club’s second win in 14 games in all competition. And even against a team mired in the relegation zone, City was pegged back for much of the second half until Haaland’s header ended Leicester’s resistance.
Savinho put the team ahead in the 21st minute by pouncing on the rebound after Phil Foden drove forward and tried a low shot from distance that Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk pushed to the side. The ball fell into the path of the onrushing Savinho, who lifted it over the goalkeeper and into the net.
The winger then turned provider by lifting a perfect cross into the box for Haaland to head home the second, shortly after Jamie Vardy had missed a good chance for a Leicester equalizer.
Spurs drop points again
Tottenham’s roller-coaster of a season had another downturn as Spurs conceded a late equalizer to draw 2-2 at home against Wolves.
Ange Postecoglou has come under increasing criticism of late because of his team’s all-attacking style of play and the team’s defensive vulnerabilities were on display again as Jorgen Strand Larsen was afforded space to beat Fraser Forster at his near post in the 87th minute.
Wolves had taken the lead through Hwang Hee-chan after a well-worked free kick routine in the seventh minute, but Rodrigo Bentancur equalized five minutes later and Brennan Johnson gave Tottenham the lead on the stroke of halftime.
Substitute Dango Ouattara netted an even later equalizer for Bournemouth to draw 2-2 at Fulham, while Crystal Palace came from a goal down to beat last-place Southampton 2-1.
