Category: Football

MANCHESTER: Eddie Nketiah’s last minute strike earned Arsenal a thrilling 3-2 win over Manchester United to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League on Sunday after Erling Haaland’s hat-trick fired Manchester City to a 3-0 victory over Wolves.

The Gunners remain on course for a first title in 19 years with a game in hand over City also to come.

United went in front at the Emirates after Marcus Rashford’s thunderous strike opened the scoring with his ninth goal since the World Cup break.

Arsenal levelled within seven minutes as Nketiah’s powerful header rounded off a brilliant team move.

Bukayo Saka’s long-range effort that arrowed into the bottom corner put the home side in front early in the second half.

This time United bounced straight back when Lisandro Martinez, who had been a target for Arsenal before arriving at Old Trafford in July, headed in a loose ball from a corner.

Erik ten Hag’s men were penned inside their own box for much of the final quarter as the post denied Saka a second and David de Gea saved from Nketiah.

Arsenal’s pressure finally got its reward when Nketiah flicked home Martin Odegaard’s shot and the goal survived a VAR check for offside.

“Emotional, a lot of passion, a lot of quality. It doesn’t get much better than that,” said Arteta.

“To come here against this team and play the way we played. The second half especially, the performance was incredible.”

A first defeat in 11 games realistically ends any hope of United’s first title in a decade as they slip 11 points behind Arsenal in fourth, having played a game more.

“It’s hard to accept when you lose in the last stage of the game,” said Ten Hag.

“We made mistakes with all three goals. Normally we are better in such situations. It can’t happen.”

Haaland’s fourth hat-trick 

Haaland’s fourth hat-trick in 19 Premier League appearances had briefly cut Arsenal’s lead at the top to two points as Pep Guardiola got the reaction he wanted from the defending champions.

Guardiola questioned his players’ hunger to retain the title after Thursday’s 4-2 win over Tottenham.

Haaland is the one major difference to Guardiola’s previous title-winning sides in England and the Norwegian silenced any doubts over whether City are a stronger force without a recognised striker.

The 22-year-old’s scoring rate has slowed marginally in recent weeks, but his header from Kevin De Bruyne’s cross moved him level with the 23 league goals that saw Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min share the Golden Boot with last season.

Haaland then took his tally to 30 goals in all competitions from the penalty spot early in the second half after Ilkay Gundogan had been upended by Ruben Neves.

Wolves gifted Haaland his hat-trick four minutes later as goalkeeper Jose Sa presented the ball to Riyad Mahrez, who unselfishly squared for his teammate to roll into an unguarded net.

“The numbers are incredible,” said Guardiola.

“We can’t play the false nine with him. You have to adapt some movements with him and we are doing quite well.”

Just a second league defeat since Julen Lopetegui took charge leaves Wolves above the relegation zone only on goal difference.

Leeds edged one point clear of the bottom three, but remain without a league win since November after a 0-0 draw at home to Brentford.

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BARCELONA: Pedri’s first-half strike earned Barcelona three more points and maintained their top position in the La Liga table as they beat Getafe 1-0. 

Barcelona jumped to 44 points, three ahead of their arch-rivals and second-placed Real Madrid who also defeat Athletic Club 2-0 later on Sunday.

Getafe, however, slipped to 16th and level on 17 points with Celta Vigo and 18th-placed Real Valladolid, barely above the relegation zone thanks to a better goal difference.

In preparation for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal match against Real Sociedad, head coach Xavi Hernandez made many adjustments to his starting lineup, resting key players including Robert Lewandowski, Ronald Araujo, and Frenkie de Jong.

Pedri broke the deadlock in the 34th minute by latching onto Raphinha’s pass and guiding it to the back of the nets.

Barcelona dominated the opposition throughout the game, holding possession of the ball for about 70% of the time. However, with only four shots on target during the entire match, the Catalan Giants did not produce many obvious opportunities to widen their lead.

Meanwhile, experienced Karim Benzema and Toni Kross scored goals to take Real Madrid home with flying colours at San Mames.

Ballon d’Or winner Benzema gave his side a lead in the 23rd minute with an eloquent left-footed finish from the centre of the box while Toni Kroos extended the lead in the dying minutes of the game with a long-range shot.

Earlier, a late penalty shot from Dani Parejo deep into the stoppage time helped fifth-placed Villareal sink Girona 1-0 at El Madrigal.

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MADRID: Antoine Griezmann put up a stellar performance to take Atletico Madrid back on the winning track as they claimed a commanding 3-0 win over Real Valladolid in La Liga on Saturday. 

Griezamann, Alvaro Morata and Mario Hermoso scored first-half goals to earn points for Atletico just for the second time in their last seven league matches.

With a fifth straight defeat, Vallodolid, however, entered the unwanted relegation zone as they slipped to the 18th place after Sevilla went one point ahead of them following a 1-0 victory over Cadiz.

Atletico, on the other hand, jumps to the fourth and are 10 points behind table-toppers Barcelona, who still have two games in hand.

At Metropolitano, the home side took the commanding position early on, striking all three of their goals in a 10-minute span.

Griezmann set up the opener with a flick for Morata to score in the 18th minute, before getting on the scoresheet himself with a brilliantly executed backheel goal.

The Frenchman played a part in the third goal as well, finding Hermoso with a free-kick. Hermoso’s 28th-minute header was blocked by Valladolid goalkeeper Jordi Masip but the rebound landed back at his feet and the Atletico defender found the net.

Earlier, Espanyol beat Real Betis 1-0 thanks to the decider scored by Martin Braithwaite in the 43rd minute.

Meanwhile, Real Sociedad earned a dominant 2-0 win over Rayo Vallecano with a strike each from Alexander Sorioth and Ander Barrenetxea.

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KARACHI: Star Indian batter Virat Kohli has come out in support of football great Cristiano Ronaldo following his magnificent performance against Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in an exhibition match in Riyadh.

Ronaldo, who was fouled by PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas’s flailing fist, recovered soon and struck twice in a 4-5 exhibition defeat to the Qatar-owned side, his first appearance since moving to Saudi Arabia’s club Al-Nassr.

His twin strikes, however, went in vain as Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Sergio Ramos, Marquinhos and Hugo Ekitike all struck to seal the deal for PSG.

Notably, Ronaldo was under a lot of criticism following his controversial interview with a British TV channel which led to his former club Manchester United terminating his contract.

The Portuguese forward was then moved to Saudi Arabia’s club Al-Nassr after a whopping amount of more than 400 million dollars.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s brilliance in the Friendly inspired India’s star batter Kohli, who shared a picture of the footballer on his Instagram story.

“Still doing it at the highest level at 38. The football experts sitting and criticising him every week for attention are conveniently quiet now that he’s put in this kind of performance against one of the top clubs in the world. And he was apparently finished,” wrote Kohli as he shared Ronaldo’s picture holding the player of the match title.

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RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo recovered from a punch in the face to score twice against Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday in a lively reunion with his great rival Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo, 37, was decked by PSG ‘keeper Keylor Navas’s flailing fist but he drilled the resulting penalty and then added another in a 5-4 exhibition defeat, his first appearance since moving to Saudi Arabia in a deal said to total more than 400 million euros.

For Qatar-owned PSG, Messi and Kylian Mbappe both scored and Neymar missed a penalty before they withdrew on the hour-mark alongside Ronaldo, who was representing a composite Saudi side, to leave the world’s four best-paid players watching from the bench in Riyadh.

Hundreds of millions of euros worth of footballers were on view for the exhibition game in the Saudi capital, which comes just weeks after neighbouring Qatar spent lavishly on the first World Cup on Arab soil, won by Messi’s Argentina.

Among the packed crowd at the 69,000-seat King Fahd Stadium was a Saudi real estate mogul who paid $2.6 million at auction for a ticket giving him dressing-room access to the players.

After Ronaldo led out the Riyadh Season Team, drawn from his new club Al Nassr and Saudi rivals Al Hilal, to flame-throwers and tickertape, Messi opened the scoring after just three minutes when he was fed by the livewire Mbappe.

Flush on the cheekbone 

Ronaldo’s first touch in Saudi football was a throw-in but he had a shot saved and a penalty appeal waved away before Navas caught him flush on the cheekbone as they challenged for a high ball.

Ronaldo, still rubbing the red mark on his face and grimacing, fired past Navas to make it 1-1 on 34 minutes.

Five minutes later, PSG’s Juan Bernat was given a straight red card for a foul on Salem Al-Dawsari — Saudi Arabia’s match-winner in their famous group-stage World Cup victory over Argentina.

Messi, perhaps irritated by the intensity of the mid-season friendly, aimed a reproachful look at Ronaldo, his sparring partner in their days playing for Barcelona and Real Madrid.

PSG were soon back in front thanks to Marquinhos’s delicate finish before Neymar missed his spot-kick, shooting tamely after a trademark stutter run-up.

Minutes later, Ronaldo hit his second equaliser deep into first-half injury time, heading against the post and then burying the rebound to make it 2-2 at half-time.

Mbappe put PSG back in front shortly after the break, turning his marker inside-out and laying on an easy finish for Sergio Ramos, before Hyun-soo Jang found a third equaliser for the hosts.

But Mbappe thumped home a penalty and Hugo Ekitike scored to make it 5-3 before Brazilian striker Talisca grabbed the Riyadh team’s fourth goal at the death.

It was the first outing in oil-rich Saudi for Ronaldo, who will make his Saudi Pro League debut for Al Nassr on Sunday after signing for more than 200 million euros, according to a source close to the club.

The veteran Portuguese star will be paid an additional 200 million euros, the source told AFP, to be an ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s expected 2030 World Cup joint hosting bid with Egypt and Greece.

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RIYADH: Barcelona convincingly beat Real Madrid 3-1 in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to win the Spanish Super Cup, their first trophy since coach Xavi Hernandez took over.

Inspired by teenager Gavi, who scored himself and set up goals for Robert Lewandowski and Pedri Gonzalez, the Catalans produced one of their best performances in years against their bitter Clasico rivals.

Having enjoyed great success as a player at Barca, Xavi returned in November 2021 and after a summer of heavy spending this emphatic victory is a sign his project is moving in the right direction.

Karim Benzema netted a late consolation for Madrid, who have been far from their best since the World Cup break and also fell three points behind Barcelona in La Liga last weekend.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti suffered his first defeat in a final since 2014, with Los Blancos surrendering the trophy they earned last season to Barcelona, who have now won the Super Cup a record 14 times.

“We knew it was a chance we had to take, we have lived through an era of changes at the club and in the dressing room, and this will reinforce us to keep fighting for more titles,” Barca captain Sergio Busquets told Movistar.

Xavi crucially deployed four central midfielders, with 18-year-old Gavi drifting inside off a nominal starting position on the left and frequently giving Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal the slip.

Barcelona broke the deadlock when Busquets pressed well after a loose Antonio Rudiger pass, leading to Lewandowski feeding Gavi, who slotted home confidently.

Gavi turned provider for the second, running on to De Jong’s pass and sliding the ball across for Lewandowski to finish clinically.

“(Gavi) is a kid that excites us all, when you see him compete like that, putting his soul out there, he’s a character that is contagious for the team, he has an innate capacity for leadership,” Xavi told a press conference.

“It comes from inside him, it’s spectacular. At 18, I have said it many times, but don’t let it stop, he has no ceiling this boy.”

Real ‘weaknesses’

Gavi, who won the Golden Boy award in 2022, was the game’s outstanding performer and showed Barcelona are in good hands both now and for years to come.

Madrid’s own young star Vinicius Junior was shackled by Ronald Araujo, the Uruguayan playing at right-back to directly subdue the Brazilian’s threat.

“Today I think we were lacking, we went out there giving 90 percent, 80 percent, and in a final against a rival like this, you can’t do that,” Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde told Movistar.

Courtois denied Dembele after a brilliant Alejandro Balde run and the overworked Belgian stopper was keeping Madrid’s slim hopes alive.

By contrast, Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen went untested until the 70th minute, by when his side had netted their third.

Lewandowski released Gavi, who crossed for Pedri to tap home at the back post as Barcelona romped to a compelling victory.

The only blot on Barcelona’s copybook was a late Benzema strike, finishing after his first effort was blocked.

“To say it was humiliation is disrespectful,” Ancelotti told a news conference.

“We lost a game against Barcelona like we beat them in the league. They played better and they deserved it, full stop.”

The biggest blow for Madrid may prove to be the morale boost the victory is for their rivals.

Although Xavi will ultimately be judged on his performance in major competitions — and Barcelona have already been eliminated from this season’s Champions League — he was thrilled by the victory.

“It brings a lot of calm, confidence, because what we planned worked brilliantly, we beat Madrid, dominating the whole game,” said Xavi.

“I’ll take how we played from this, it is very important to me. The trophy, yes, but how (we won it).

“We have three trophies to play for this season and this gives us confidence.”

ALMERIA: In another disappointing outcome, Atletico Madrid dropped two more points on Sunday after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Almeria in LaLiga on Sunday.

Angel Correa gave Diego Simeone’s team an early lead in the 18th minute before Almeria found an equalizer through El Bilal Toure in the 37th minute.

With an effort ruled for offside in the first half and brilliant saves by Almeria goalkeeper Fernando Martinez to deny Alvaro Morata and Correa in the second half kept Atletico at bay.

The visiting side’s frustration grew further in the dying minutes when Sergio Regulation was sent off for two yellow cards, 20 minutes after he took the pitch as a substitute.

Atletico, who have won only one of their last six La Liga games that too against bottom-placed Elche, are fourth in the standings, level at 28 points with Villarreal and Real Betis.

They are 13 points behind table leaders Barcelona, who have a game in hand.

Earlier Espanyol beat Getafe 2-1, with striker Javi Puado scoring the winner in the second half.

In the sixth minute, Joselu lobbed David Soria to give Espanyol the lead, but Enes Unal quickly tied the score with a spectacular effort of his own from a wide-left position.

Puado, however, earned points for his side with a solo dribble and excellent finish in the 62nd minute, helping Espanyol jump ahead of opponent Getafe in the table on the 14th.

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SAB SEBASTIAN: Real Sociedad claimed their fourth win in a row to make their way into the top three in the La Liga table as they defeated Athletic Club 3-1 at Anoeta Stadium on Saturday.

The home side dominated their Basque rivals as Alexander Sorioth, Takefusa Kubo and Mikel Oyarzabal scored a goal each to earn points for the Sociedad.

Real Sociedad, after last night’s win, claimed the third spot in La Liga, three points behind second-placed Real Madrid while Barcelona are six points ahead of them at the top.

Sorioth opened the scoring in the 25th minute before Kubo doubled the lead 12 minutes later, however, Oihan Sancet brought the equation to 2-1 before the first half.

Sociedad regained the two-goal cushion with a penalty in the second half as Oyarzabal netted the ball from the spot in the 62nd minute.

Earlier, Osasuna edged past Mallorca thanks to the winner scored by Aimar Oroz early in the second half.

Meanwhile, Girona came from behind to seal a thrilling win over Sevilla with a late decider from Yangel Herrera.

Herrera struck the winner in the 88th minute after Cristhian Stuani grounded Sevilla’s first-half lead given by Tiangay Nanzou in the 13th minute.

However, in another fixture on Saturday, Isi Palazon earned vital points for Rayo Vallecano with a 66th-minute winner as they beat Valladolid 1-0.

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MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola was left fuming by the controversial VAR decision to allow a Bruno Fernandes goal that sparked Manchester United’s thrilling fightback in their 2-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday.

City were leading through Jack Grealish’s second-half header at Old Trafford when United snatched their dubious 78th-minute equaliser.

Marcus Rashford was clearly offside when he ran onto a through ball but Fernandes ran past him to fire home.

Although the goal was initially disallowed, it was eventually allowed to stand after a VAR check because Rashford didn’t touch the ball before Fernandes scored.

With Guardiola and his players furious that VAR ignored Rashford’s presence as a clear distraction to keeper Ederson, United took advantage of the champions’ loss of focus to grab a late winner through Rashford’s close-range finish.

“Marcus Rashford is offside, Bruno Fernandes is not. Rashford distracted our keeper and centre defenders,” Guardiola said.

“It is what it is. We know where we play. It is difficult for the referees in these stadiums.”

Even United manager Erik ten Hag conceded he could understand Guardiola’s frustration with such a debatable decision.

“I can see that from the other side as well – of course it’s a confusing moment but when you follow the rules he didn’t touch the ball, he was not interfering and it’s a goal,” Ten Hag said.

Third-placed United are now just one point behind City after extending their winning streak to nine games in all competitions.

“We were happy at half-time but after half-time it changed, we were not proactive any more and just before I wanted to change it, they score,” he said.

“But then the spirit in the team is so huge, the belief is there that this game is 90 minutes, and we can fight back, and they believed they could turn it around.”

Second-placed City could be eight points behind leaders Arsenal if the Gunners win at Tottenham on Sunday.

With spluttering City losing their momentum in the title race, Guardiola added: “It was a fantastic game. We were close and we have to improve when we concede the goal, be more stable, the gap between the first and second goal is too close.

“In general I have no regrets. I don’t care if we don’t win the Carabao Cup or the Premier League, we’ll try. I don’t care when a team performs how we play. It was quite similar to the many, many years we’ve been here.”

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BARCELONA: Celta Vigo’s substitute Jorgen Larsen struck in the 68th minute to draw 1-1 level for his side against Villarreal in the ongoing La Liga 2022/23 but the latter edged into the Champions League.

Villarreal were in complete control of the game when Gerard Moreno struck the opener in just the 15th minute.

Following the early deficit, Celta responded with some close calls but Pepe Reina blocked them to keep the visitors in the lead.

Celta’s greatest effort came just before halftime but the 40-year-old goalkeeper closed fast to block Iago Aspas’ shot and put it wide.

Villarreal then looked to double their lead in the second half but José Morales clipped the crossbar. However, briefly, after that Celta finally managed to fire in the equalizer in the 68th minute off Larsen.

Larsen’s second-half goal marked his first for Celta in 13 games since joining the side in the summer.

Meanwhile, despite missing the opportunity to claim a victory, Villarreal earned the qualification for the Champions League as they claimed a point that they needed to stay in fourth place.

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