ABIDJAN: Former champions Algeria crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations in the group stage on Tuesday after a shock defeat against Mauritania, but Cameroon secured a last-16 place with a dramatic victory over Gambia.
Algeria won their second AFCON title in Egypt in 2019 but were then sent packing in the group stage at the last edition in Cameroon two years ago with just one point and one goal scored.
This campaign has been equally miserable for Djamel Belmadi’s team, who drew their first two matches in Group D against Angola and Burkina Faso but would have qualified for the knockout phase with a point against Mauritania in Bouake.
Yet Mauritania, who had lost their opening two matches in Ivory Coast and had never won in eight previous attempts at the AFCON, ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a 37th-minute goal by captain Mohamed Dellah Yaly, who plays his club football in Iraq.
The result relegated Algeria — who started the game with off-form Riyad Mahrez on the bench — to bottom spot in their group and they head home having now gone six Cup of Nations matches without winning since beating Senegal 1-0 in the 2019 final.
Mauritania, meanwhile, are now certain to advance to the knockout phase for the first time in their history as one of the four best third-placed teams.
“Nobody was thinking about Mauritania, but football is like that, full of surprises, and we have been rewarded for all the hard work we have put in,” Mauritania coach Amir Abdou told broadcaster Canal Plus Afrique.
Angola finish top of Group D ahead of Burkina Faso after beating the Stallions 2-0 in Yamoussoukro thanks to a goal in each half from Egypt-based striker Mabululu and Zini of AEK Athens.
The Angolans are through to the knockout phase for the first time since hosting the tournament in 2010, and will now play a best third-placed team in Bouake in the last 16.
Runners-up in 2013 and semifinalists two years ago, Burkina Faso will head to the northern city of Korhogo for a tie next Tuesday against the winners of Group E, which will be Mali, South Africa or Namibia.
Earlier on Tuesday, five-time champions Cameroon secured qualification for the next round with a 3-2 win over Gambia in an extraordinary match in Bouake.
Both teams needed a win to stand a chance of going through from Group C, and Cameroon took the lead early in the second half from a Karl Toko-Ekambi header.
Yet Gambia, quarter-finalists two years ago, drew level on 72 minutes when the unmarked Ablie Jallow finished past Fabrice Ondoa, preferred in goal to Manchester United’s Andre Onana.
Ebrima Colley then put Gambia ahead five minutes from time, meaning the Indomitable Lions were heading out.
However, James Gomez turned a cross into his own net two minutes later to make it 2-2, and Christopher Wooh then headed in Cameroon’s winner in stoppage time.
“It is in our DNA, it’s just what we are like,” Cameroon coach Rigobert Song said when it was put to him that his team never know when they are beaten.
They will now head to Abidjan for a heavyweight last-16 tie against Nigeria on Saturday, while Gambia go home with three defeats in as many games.
Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet confirmed after the match that he would be leaving his position, despite having a contract until 2026.
Meanwhile, reigning champions Senegal beat Guinea 2-0 in Yamoussoukro to top Group C with a 100 percent record, Abdoulaye Seck and Iliman Ndiaye scoring their goals in the second half.
They will stay in Yamoussoukro for a last-16 tie next Monday against one of the best third-placed teams, and there is a good chance they will end up playing hosts Ivory Coast who remain in contention to qualify despite coming third in Group A.
Cameroon’s comeback relegated Guinea — who had star striker Serhou Guirassy back from injury — to third place, but they will go through to the next round.
However, those results condemned four-time champions Ghana to elimination.
The group stage concludes on Wednesday, with South Africa playing Tunisia and Namibia facing Mali in Group E, while Tanzania take on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia meet Morocco in Group F.
Algeria crash out of Cup of Nations as Cameroon qualify for last 16
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Algeria crash out of Cup of Nations as Cameroon qualify for last 16
- The result relegated Algeria — who started the game with off-form Riyad Mahrez on the bench — to bottom spot in their group
Haaland penalty failure and Fernandes red card pile on woes for City and United in Premier League
- Liverpool rallied to a 3-1 win over Leicester in foggy conditions at Anfield and moved seven points clear atop the standings approaching the halfway point of the campaign
- Nottingham Forest won 1-0 against Tottenham and are a big surprise in third place
LONDON: Erling Haaland’s failure from the penalty spot and Bruno Fernandes’ latest red card compounded the woes of Manchester City and Manchester United on another tough day for the two Premier League giants.
There were no such problems Thursday for Liverpool, who rallied to a 3-1 win over Leicester in foggy conditions at Anfield and moved seven points clear atop the standings approaching the halfway point of the campaign.
City dropped more points in their improbably poor run of form by drawing 1-1 at home to Everton, with Haaland having a spot kick saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 53rd minute.
The four-time defending champions have only won one of their last 13 games in all competitions and manager Pep Guardiola acknowledged he needs to spend in the January transfer window to reverse City’s slide.
“The transfer window in the winter is not easy, but even the players know that we have to add some new players,” said Guardiola, who has had to cope without a host of key players, including Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, through injury this season.
While City are languishing in seventh place, United are even further adrift in 14th place after a 2-0 loss at lowly Wolverhampton.
United played almost the entire second half with 10 men after Fernandes collected his second yellow card in the 47th minute. It was the United captain’s third sending-off of the season, though one was rescinded.
After seeing second-place Chelsea also drop points after conceding in the fifth minute of stoppage time to lose 2-1 at home to Fulham, Liverpool recovered from conceding in the sixth minute against Leicester to extend their lead. Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah scored Liverpool’s goals.
Nottingham Forest won 1-0 against Tottenham and are a big surprise in third place.
City pain
City secured only their fifth point in the league since the end of October but that will be scant consolation to Guardiola, whose beleaguered team squandered a winning position after going ahead through Bernardo Silva’s deflected shot in the 14th. Iliman Ndiaye equalized in the 36th.
Haaland’s penalty failure means the Norway international has only scored once in his last seven games. He headed in from the rebound after his spot kick, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Haaland, who last week admitted his form had not been good enough during a run that has seen City’s season unravel, held his head in his hands after his failure to score from the spot. He still has 18 goals in 25 appearances this season, but has not scored in a win for his club since the 1-0 victory against Southampton on Oct. 26.
“We shoot a lot in the 18-yard box, but unfortunately we could not get the results that we wanted,” Guardiola said.
City’s damaging run has seen them slip down the standings in the league and crash out of the English League Cup. Guardiola’s team is also in danger of missing out on qualifying in the Champions League — sitting just one point above the cut-off point with two games left.
Goal from a corner
Wolves’ first goal against United came direct from a corner, with Brazil striker Matheus Cunha seeing his kick curl over the head of goalkeeper Andre Onana and into the far corner in the 58th minute.
“I was shooting — we train to shoot,” Cunha said.
Such goals are rare, though United also conceded from a corner in its 4-3 loss to Tottenham in the English League Cup this month. Son Heung-min scored on that occasion.
Wolves added a second through Hwang Hee-chan in the ninth minute of stoppage time and have won two straight games since Vitor Pereira replaced Gary O’Neil as manager. Cunha has 10 goals this season.
Salah scores again
Salah moved three goals clear of second-place Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot, his 16th of the campaign completing Liverpool’s recovery after Gakpo curled in the equalizer in first-half stoppage time and Jones made it 2-1 in the 49th.
Salah has scored at least one goal in nine of his last 10 league matches, and has 19 goals in all competitions this season.
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 20 matches in all competitions, the only defeat all season under new manager Arne Slot coming at home to Forest in the league in September.
“This year feels different,” Salah said of Liverpool’s title chances, “but the most important thing is we need to stay humble.”
Chelsea slump
Chelsea have dropped points in successive games, after drawing 0-0 at Everton last week.
The Blues gave up a lead earned by Cole Palmer in the 16th as Harry Wilson equalized in the 82nd and Rodrigo Muniz grabbed a late winner for Fulham, which won at Stamford Bridge for the first time in 45 years.
Arsenal can now jump from fourth to second with a win against Ipswich on Friday.
Forest win again
Forest’s remarkable season shows little sign of slowing after Anthony Elanga’s winner against Tottenham at the City Ground. Forest are a point behind Chelsea.
Aston Villa was already a goal down to Newcastle after Anthony Gordon’s strike in the second minute when Jhon Duran was sent off in the 32nd. Alexander Isak and Joelinton added goals for the hosts in a 3-0 win.
West Ham had to cope with first-half injuries to defender Max Kilman and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, but still won 1-0 at Southampton.
Troubled Man City held by lowly Everton, Chelsea title bid rocked
LONDON: Erling Haaland had a second-half penalty saved as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against lowly Everton, while title contenders Chelsea suffered a first home defeat against Fulham since 1979 on Thursday.
Champions City have just one victory in their last 13 games in all competitions as their Christmas schedule started in disappointing fashion.
Bernardo Silva put City in front early on before Iliman Ndiaye salvaged a point for Everton.
City are languishing in seventh place and sit five points adrift of the top four, with their astonishing decline showing no sign of ending.
City boss Pep Guardiola conceded ahead of the game that his troubled side are at risk of failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 15 years and their latest setback was another blow to that target.
“Of course we need results and we didn’t get it. The team played really good again in all departments and unfortunately could not win,” Guardiola said.
“We accept it. It is life. We did not expect it to not win games many times. But what do you have to do? Continue.”
Everton had kept five clean sheets in their last six games but were breached after just 14 minutes.
Jeremy Doku fed Silva and his effort across goal deflected off Jarrad Branthwaite and looped beyond the helpless Jordan Pickford.
Everton levelled when Manuel Akanji sliced an attempted clearance into the path of Ndiaye, who fired into the top corner for Everton’s first away goal in over two months.
Seven minutes into the second half, Haaland had the chance to end his longest goal drought at the Etihad but Pickford dived low to his right to make the save.
At Stamford Bridge, second-placed Chelsea were stunned by Fulham’s late fightback for a 2-1 win in a dramatic west London derby.
Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead after 16 minutes, the England forward drilling home from the edge of the area after weaving through the Fulham defense in dazzling style.
But Fulham levelled with eight minutes left when Antonee Robinson’s cross was headed down by Timothy Castagne and Harry Wilson nodded in from close range.
Chelsea were furious, claiming Alex Iwobi had fouled Pedro Neto in the build-up to the goal.
But there was worse to come for the Blues in stoppage-time when Rodrigo Muniz converted Sasa Lukic’s pass with a clinical strike.
Chelsea are four points behind leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand and host Leicester later on Thursday.
Nottingham Forest climbed to third place after a 1-0 win against spluttering Tottenham at the City Ground.
Forest went ahead in the 28th minute when Anthony Elanga raced onto Morgan Gibbs-White’s pass and stroke a composed finish past Fraser Forster.
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo had just 17 games in charge of Tottenham before being sacked in 2021.
But Forest’s fourth successive win was sweet revenge for Nuno, whose former club had Djed Spence sent off in the closing moments for a second booking.
Tottenham are stuck in 11th place as the pressure mounts on boss Ange Postecoglou.
Newcastle swatted aside 10-man Aston Villa 3-0, moving up to fifth place after winning three consecutive league games for the first time since 2023.
Anthony Gordon struck with a superb curling strike after just two minutes at St. James’ Park.
Villa’s Jhon Duran was sent off in the 32nd minute for violent conduct after stamping on Newcastle’s Fabian Schar.
Alexander Isak made Newcastle’s numerical advantage count in the 59th minute as the Swedish striker tapped in his seventh goal in his last six appearances.
Joelinton wrapped up the points in stoppage-time with a curler from 18 yards.
Jarrod Bowen’s 59th-minute goal gave West Ham a 1-0 win at bottom of the table Southampton after the visitors saw Guido Rodriguez’s red card overturned by VAR.
It was a frustrating start for new Saints boss Ivan Juric, who has replaced the sacked Russell Martin.
Bournemouth and Crystal Palace shared a goalless draw at the Vitality Stadium.
World No. 1 Sabalenka ready for more Slam success
- Sabalenka: I love Australia and I always come here hungry and always come here ready
- The 26-year-old enjoyed a sensational 2024, reaching seven finals and winning four titles, including the US Open
BRISBANE: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka says she is “fresh and ready to go” in her bid for a third straight Australian Open title, warning she has plenty of room for improvement.
The 26-year-old enjoyed a sensational 2024, reaching seven finals and winning four titles, including the US Open.
Her year was kickstarted by defending her Australian Open crown, beating China’s high-flying Zheng Qinwen in the final.
Should she win it again, she will become the first woman to claim three straight Melbourne Park singles titles since Martina Hingis between 1997-1999.
“I feel fresh and ready to go,” the Belarusian said, according to the WTA website Thursday, after arriving for the Brisbane International which starts on Sunday ahead of the Australian Open from Jan. 12.
“I love Australia and I always come here hungry and always come here ready.
“I feel all the support here, and I think that’s the best thing about Australia, that people are really, really, into tennis.”
Sabalenka also began 2024 in Brisbane, reaching the final without losing a set only to crash to Kazakstan’s Elena Rybakina in the decider.
She spent time in the off-season at her home in Florida before heading to the Middle East to prepare for Australia and will use the Brisbane tournament to fine-tune her Grand Slam preparations.
“You work hard on lots of things in the pre-season,” she said.
“The first tournament before the major tournament is the one where you can try it out and see what’s going to work well for you, and what’s not.”
Despite her rise through the ranks to be the player to beat heading into 2025, Sabalenka said there were still parts of her game that need work.
“Oh, there is so many things to improve,” she said.
“I mean, I’m not that good with maybe my game at the net in singles. There is a lot of things to improve in my touch game.
“There is so many things, even my serve is not as good as I want it to be, so there is always (elements) to improve.”
Liverpool host Foxes, Arsenal prepare for life without Saka
- Both crisis-hit Manchester clubs will seek a festive fillip, with faltering champions City at home to Wolves and United away to Wolves
- Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham, licking their wounds after a brutal 6-3 hammering by Liverpool, face a tough assignment at high-flying Nottingham Forest
LONDON: Christmas Premier League chart-toppers Liverpool are overwhelming favorites to see off struggling Leicester on Boxing Day (Thursday).
Meanwhile, both crisis-hit Manchester clubs will seek a festive fillip, with faltering champions City at home to Wolves and United away to Wolves.
Second-placed Chelsea host Fulham while in-form Arsenal will fancy their chances against relegation-threatened Ipswich on Friday, even without the injured Bukayo Saka.
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham, licking their wounds after a brutal 6-3 hammering by Liverpool, face a tough assignment at high-flying Nottingham Forest.
Here are some of the major talking points in the run-up to one of the busiest points of the English football season.
Liverpool are top the table on Christmas Day for the first time since the 2020/21 season and will want to make it count.
Just once in the past seven top-flight campaigns in which they have sat at the summit on December 25, have they gone on to win the title.
Arne Slot’s side returned to winning ways in style on Sunday, overwhelming Spurs following two frustrating draws.
They are four points clear of Chelsea with a game in hand. It would be a huge surprise if they slipped up against Leicester at home, especially with Mohamed Salah enjoying a purple patch.
The Egypt international is the first player to reach double figures for both goals (15) and assists (11) before Christmas in the history of the Premier League.
Leicester won their first match under new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy earlier this month but have collected just a single point in their past three matches, conceding nine goals.
The leaky Foxes have not won at Anfield since 2000 and are just two points clear of the drop zone after returning to the top flight this season.
A buoyant Mikel Arteta said the Premier League title race was “on” after Arsenal swept Crystal Palace aside 5-1 on Saturday.
But one dark cloud was Saka limping off at Selhurst Park, with the England winger set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
It is a blow for Arteta, depriving him of his most potent attacking weapon — Saka has scored nine goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions this season — just as Arsenal are finding their form again.
“It’s going to be a really good exercise for all of us to think about ways to overcome another challenge, because we’ve already had a lot in the season,” said Arsenal boss Arteta, whose team are third in the Premier League table.
Arteta has a number of attacking options, with Gabriel Martinelli a candidate to fill the void, but Saka, 23, offers something unique.
Nottingham Forest fans are dreaming of a return to the Champions League — more than 40 years after they last played in Europe’s premier club competition.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have won seven of their past 10 Premier League games to climb to fourth in the table ahead of their match against Tottenham on Thursday.
Forest have not won a major trophy since 1990 but they have a proud tradition in continental competition — with the Midlands club twice crowned European champions under former manager Brian Clough, in 1979 and 1980.
While Forest are not prolific scorers, they are impressive at the back — only Liverpool and Arsenal have conceded fewer goals in the English top flight this season.
Former Spurs boss Nuno is braced for the unknown against his former club, who have built a reputation as great entertainers.
“You never know what’s going to happen in the game,” he said. “What we can see is good players, a lot of goals, also conceding goals.”
Fixtures
Thursday (1500 GMT unless stated)
Manchester City vs. Everton (1230), Bournemouth vs. Crystal Palace, Chelsea vs. Fulham, Newcastle vs. Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest vs. Tottenham, Southampton vs. West Ham, Wolves vs. Manchester United (1730), Liverpool vs. Leicester (2000)
Friday
Brighton vs. Brentford (1930), Arsenal vs. Ipswich (2015)
Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Como, coached by Cesc Fabregas, slipped a spot to 16th and sit just one point clear of the relegation zone
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan saw off Como 2-0 on Monday to stretch their unbeaten run in Serie A to 11 games and move back to within three points of leaders Atalanta.
Defender Carlos Augusto headed in from a corner early in the second half before Marcus Thuram wrapped up a fourth successive league win with a thumping finish in stoppage time.
Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer made a crucial save on the hour to deny Nico Paz an equalizer as Simone Inzaghi’s side showed signs of weariness at the San Siro in what was their third outing in a week.
Thuram’s goal was his 12th of the season and sent him level with Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui for the league lead.
“Marcus is a high-class player who always trains well and has adapted very quickly to the way we play,” said Inzaghi.
“You have to congratulate Como for coming here and giving it their all, but we stayed focused and showed great maturity.”
Third-placed Inter are a point behind Napoli but have played a game less than the top two teams after their match with Fiorentina was called off at the start of December following Edoardo Bove’s sudden collapse.
Reigning champions Inter visit lowly Cagliari this weekend and could put the pressure back on Atalanta, who are away to Lazio in the late game on Saturday.
Como, coached by Cesc Fabregas, slipped a spot to 16th and sit just one point clear of the relegation zone.
Fiorentina lost more ground in the title race after falling to a 2-1 home defeat by Udinese.
Moise Kean’s early penalty gave Fiorentina the lead as they sought to shake off last weekend’s loss to Bologna that snapped the club’s eight-match winning streak in Serie A.
However, Udinese equalized shortly after half-time through Lorenzo Lucca and former France international Florian Thauvin curled in the winner from outside the area.
“The most important thing for me is not the goal but the victory. These are three important points against a very strong team,” said Udinese captain Thauvin.
Udinese stayed ninth and are eight points off the European places.
