Romelu Lukaku was stretchered off after a clash of heads as Manchester United drew 0-0 with Southampton on Saturday.
Lukaku crashed into Southampton’s Wesley Hoedt as the pair contested an aerial challenge early in the first half at Old Trafford.
The Belgian striker lay prone on the pitch barely moving while he was treated by medical staff for five minutes.
Photo: AFP
Lukaku remained conscious and was eventually carried off wearing an oxygen mask.
The injury continued a difficult period for Lukaku, who has scored only four times in his past 19 appearances.
In the absence of Lukaku, Jose Mourinho’s men were unable to break down Southampton and had to settle for their third successive league draw.
Photo: Reuters
United ended a frustrating month trailing 14 points behind leaders Manchester City.
“When you see a player leave the pitch like he did, it is usually two games at least,” Mourinho said of Lukaku. “We missed easy chances, but I’m really unhappy because we should have had a penalty.”
LIVERPOOL 2, LEICESTER CITY 1
Liverpool on Saturday celebrated Virgil van Dijk’s arrival at Anfield by coming from behind to beat Leicester City 2-1 thanks to Mohamed Salah’s brace.
Van Dijk, signed from Southampton for a world record fee for a defender, is not able to play for Liverpool until this month, but the flaws the Dutch centerback will be asked to fix were on display as Leicester took a third minute lead.
With Van Dijk watching, Joel Matip carelessly conceded possession and Riyad Mahrez set up Jamie Vardy to slot past goalkeeper Loris Karius for his 10th of the season.
Liverpool leveled seven minutes after the interval. Egypt winger Salah took Sadio Mane’s brilliant pass and showed good footwork before drilling past Kasper Schmeichel for his 22nd club goal of an incredible debut season following his move from Roma.
Salah then won it for Liverpool in the 76th minute, turning away from Leicester defender Harry Maguire and firing it in.
Liverpool, unbeaten in 12 league games, remain fourth and now hold a four-point advantage over Tottenham Hotspur in the race to qualify for the Champions League.
“It is a maximum satisfaction to win like this. Today was pretty much perfect,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said. “When we were one goal down our reaction was the best I’ve ever seen in this situation. Mo was fantastic with his dribbling and his vision. I couldn’t ask more from him.”
CHELSEA 5, STOKE CITY 0
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea climbed above United into second place after shutting out Stoke City 5-0.
Antonio Conte’s side made a perfect start when German defender Antonio Rudiger headed home from Willian’s free-kick in the third minute.
Eden Hazard was rested, but his replacement Danny Drinkwater did a passable impression of the brilliant Belgian, the midfielder bagging his first goal for the Blues with a blistering strike in the ninth minute.
Stoke were three down by the 23rd minute when Pedro finished off Willian’s pass to put Chelsea on course for a fourth win in five league games.
Willian stroked home a penalty in the 73rd minute, before wing-back Davide Zappacosta grabbed his first Premier League goal with two minutes remaining.
“Every win is important for us. Today it was important to get three points to continue our positive run,” Conte said.
In Saturday’s other games, it was:
‧ Swansea City 2, Watford 1
‧ Huddersfield 0, Burnley 0
‧ Bournemouth 2, Everton 1
‧ Newcastle 0, Brighton 0
‘BOWLINE’ AND ‘ARCTOS’: Roy Quaden was hit on the head by a boom, while Nick Smith was struck by the main sheet and thrown across the boat amid rough seas Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, officials said yesterday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas. One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said. The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage. Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
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