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.
Saka stars in Arsenal rout at West Ham as Van Nistelrooy watches new team Leicester lose
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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
NEOM SC promoted to SPL after beating Al-Arabi 3-0 in Saudi 1st Division
- A brace by Ahmad Abdo, and a goal by Saeed Bin Rahma were enough to promote the Tabuk-based club to first-tier SPL
RIYADH: NEOM Sports Club were promoted to the Roshn Saudi Pro League on Tuesday after defeating Al-Arabi Club 3-0 in the Saudi First Division.
A brace by Ahmad Abdo, and a goal by Saeed Bin Rahma were enough to promote the Tabuk-based club from the second tier of Saudi football to the first-tier SPL.
Celebrating their promotion after their win, NEOM said on X: “With the determination of heroes, we made history. Officially, Neom Sports Club is promoted to the Roshn League.”
Italy’s Serie A fixtures rescheduled due to Pope Francis’ funeral
- Lazio were to play Parma in Rome on Saturday, which has been rescheduled for Monday
- Serie A postponed Monday’s matches after the Pope’s death
ROME: Italy’s top-flight Serie A soccer league has postponed Saturday’s three fixtures until Sunday due to Pope Francis’ funeral being held that day in Rome, it said on Tuesday.
Earlier media reports had suggested that Serie A might make an exception for Inter Milan’s clash with visitors AS Roma to allow Simone Inzaghi’s side additional rest time ahead of their midweek Champions League semifinal at Barcelona.
But the league has confirmed that the game at San Siro will now kick off at 1500 local time (1300 GMT) on Sunday.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday aged 88. His funeral will be held at St. Peter’s Square in front of the Basilica of St. Peter before the burial in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Lazio were to play Parma in Rome on Saturday, which has been rescheduled for Monday at 2045 (1845 GMT), while Como’s home game with Genoa has been moved to Sunday at 1230 (1030 GMT).
Serie A postponed Monday’s matches after the Pope’s death, with the games rescheduled for Wednesday, and on Tuesday Italy’s National Olympic Committee (CONI) called for the suspension of all sporting events scheduled for Saturday.
Al-Nassr leave it late to defeat Damac and remain in the Saudi Pro League top 3
- 94th-minute winner gives them a 3-2 victory that moves them within 2 points of 2nd-place Al-Hilal
- Al-Ahli remain in the hunt for a top-3 spot after a 3-1 win at Al-Wehda that leaves them trailing Al-Nassr by just 2 points
There was no Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad but, in the end, that was no problem for Al-Nassr who defeated Damac 3-2 in dramatic fashion on Tuesday to move within two points of second-place Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. A 94th-minute winner from Sultan Al-Ghannam secured the victory.
With five games left to play, Al-Ittihad top the table on 68 points, followed by Al-Hilal on 62 and Al-Nassr on 60. Al-Ahli are in fourth spot on 58 points following a 3-2 victory over Al-Wehda.
With Ronaldo being rested ahead of Saturday’s AFC Champions League quarter-final against Yokohama F. Marinos, Jhon Duran led the line for the Yellows but the goals came from less-likely sources.
It was home team Damac who opened the scoring, in the 18th minute, with an unusual goal. From a corner kick delivery, Abdelkader Bedrane produced a controlled header that sent the ball toward goal, only for it to rebound off the post, hit Ramzi Solan and bounce into the Al-Nassr goal.
It took just seven minutes for the visitors to equalize, courtesy of Aymeric Laporte’s fourth league goal of the season. Damac failed to clear a corner from the right and the Spanish defender hooked a shot through a crowded area and into the net.
Into the second half, and Ali Al-Hassan put Al-Nassr in the lead with 20 minutes remaining when he side-footed smartly into the top corner from close to the penalty spot.
The lead lasted just three minutes before it was canceled out by a goal of real quality. Dhari Al-Anazi found Nicolae Stanciu just inside the area, and the Romanian turned and fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner.
Al-Ghannam won it for Al-Nassr deep into added time, lashing home a loose ball from the edge of a crowded six-yard box.
Al-Ahli are still in the hunt for a top-three finish thanks to victory at Al-Wehda. The Jeddah giants took the lead after just six minutes after Ivan Toney headed a corner against the woodwork and Roger Ibanez was the first to react, bundling the ball home.
Galeno extended the lead just before the hour mark, and although Al-Wehda pulled one back, Riyad Mahrez sealed the victory just before the end. The Greens go into their Champions League quarter-final clash with Buriram United of Thailand on Saturday in a fine run of form, with three wins and a draw in their last four league games.
Alcaraz waiting on results from medical tests to see if he will play in Madrid
- “I feel fine physically,” the 21-year-old Spaniard said
- Alcaraz won the Madrid title in 2022 and 2023
MADRID: Carlos Alcaraz said Tuesday he is feeling fine but will wait on results from medical tests to decide whether he will play at the Madrid Open.
The third-ranked Alcaraz needed treatment on his upper right leg during his straight-set loss to Holger Rune in the Barcelona Open final on Sunday.
“I feel fine physically,” the 21-year-old Spaniard said. “I’ve had tests, and we’ll see what the results say. I’m used to playing with discomfort, so let’s hope I can play and enjoy Madrid.”
Alcaraz, who won in Monte Carlo earlier this month, is expected to have his opening match later this week. He is the No. 2 seed.
Alcaraz won the Madrid title in 2022 and 2023. He is in the same half of the draw as three-time champion Novak Djokovic, the fourth seed.
Alexander Zverev, who overcame Alcaraz for the No. 2 ranking in the world after winning in Munich last weekend, is the top seed in Madrid. Defending champion Andrey Rublev is the seventh seed.
Rahul powers Delhi to big win over Lucknow in IPL
- Chasing a modest 160 for victory, Delhi rode on Rahul’s 42-ball knock and a second-wicket partnership with Abishek Porel, who hit 51, to achieve their target
- Delhi, with six wins in eight matches, bounced back from their previous defeat to table-toppers Gujarat Titans and are second in the 10-team table
LUCKNOW, India: India’s KL Rahul hit an unbeaten 57 to steer Delhi Capitals to an emphatic eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants and get his side back to winning ways in the IPL on Tuesday.
Chasing a modest 160 for victory, Delhi rode on Rahul’s 42-ball knock and a second-wicket partnership with Abishek Porel, who hit 51, to achieve their target with 13 balls to spare at Lucknow’s home ground.
Delhi, with six wins in eight matches, bounced back from their previous defeat to table-toppers Gujarat Titans and are second in the 10-team table.
Seam bowler Mukesh Kumar set up victory with his four wickets as he helped pull Lucknow back from 87-0 to 110-4 and then a below-par total of 159-6.
“Once we picked up two quick wickets, we got the momentum and all the bowlers did well to restrict them under 160,” Delhi skipper Axar Patel said.
In reply, Delhi lost Karun Nair for 15 bowled by Aiden Markram, a part-time off spinner, but Porel and Rahul combined to get the chase on track in their stand of 69.
Markram struck again to get the left-handed Porel out after his 36-ball knock, which was laced with five fours and one six.
Rahul stood firm and along with Axar, who made 34, put on an unbeaten stand of 56 to steer the team home with a winning six from Rahul.
Rahul hit his third fifty of the season to go past 5,000 runs in the IPL — making him the quickest player to achieve the feat in the T20 tournament.
Earlier, openers Markram (52) and Mitchell Marsh (45) combined the right dose of caution and aggression to steer Lucknow to 87 inside 10 overs.
South African batter Markram raised his fifty and alongside Australia’s Marsh forced Delhi to rotate their bowling options.
Sri Lanka pace bowler Dushmantha Chameera struck first to send back Markram caught out, and the wicket triggered a mini collapse.
Australia’s left-arm quick Mitchell Starc got the big wicket of West indies left-hander Nicholas Pooran, bowled for nine.
Mukesh then got two wickets in one over, including Marsh, and Lucknow wobbled.
Lucknow subbed out Marsh and got Ayush Badoni as the impact player, and the 25-year-old repaid the decision by regularly finding the boundary.
Badoni made the most of a dropped catch by Tristan Stubbs on three to smash 36 off 21 deliveries.
Badoni hammered Mukesh for three successive boundaries in the 20th over but the bowler bowled him on the fourth ball.
Skipper Rishabh Pant dropped himself down to number seven but faced just two balls before being bowled by Mukesh on the final delivery of the innings.
“We knew we were 20 runs short,” said Pant. “In Lucknow, the toss plays a big part. Whoever is bowling first, they get a lot of help from the wicket. We just had to stay back, we just couldn’t get it away.”
Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, who went to Lucknow for a record bid of $3.21 million in the November auction, has scored 106 runs in eight innings with a highest score of 63.
