English Premier League leaders Liverpool salvaged a 2-2 draw at home to Fulham despite trailing twice and having Andy Robertson sent off after 17 minutes as chasing Arsenal were left to rue being held to 0-0 stalemate at home to Everton.
Diogo Jota scored an 86th minute equalizer at Anfield as Arne Slot’s side avoided a second league defeat of the season.
They have 36 points from 15 games, five more than Chelsea, while Arsenal’s failure to score at home for the first time this season left them still six points off the pace having played one game more than the two sides above them.
Photo: AFP
Newcastle United returned to form in emphatic style as they thrashed Leicester City 4-0 with Jacob Murphy scoring twice.
At the bottom, the pressure increased on Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil as his side lost 2-1 at home to fellow strugglers Ipswich Town.
There are good draws and bad draws, and Liverpool’s would definitely feel like the former, as they emerged from a difficult afternoon with minimal damage at Anfield.
Photo: Reuters
Liverpool got off to the worst possible start as Fulham took the lead in 11th minute through Andreas Pereira’s stretching volley and then left back Robertson was dismissed, after a long Video Assistant Referee check, for denying Harry Wilson a goalscoring opportunity.
Cody Gakpo’s diving header from a Mohamed Salah cross brought Liverpool level straight after halftime and they were chasing the win when Rodrigo Muniz stunned the hosts to put Fulham back in front after 76 minutes.
However, Jota came off the bench in the 79th minute for his first appearance since October because of injury and slotted past goalkeeper Bernd Leno in the 86th to salvage a point.
Photo: AFP
Arsenal failed to score at home for the first time since April as they could not find a way through a blue Everton barricade at The Emirates.
Despite overwhelming pressure, they lacked attacking spark and even when they did get a sight of goal England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford proved unflappable, making great saves from Bukayo Sako, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli.
LA LIGA
Reuters, MADRID
Real Madrid paid for defensive mistakes as they were held to a 3-3 draw at lowly local rivals Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, missing the chance to move above leaders Barcelona in Spanish LaLiga.
Real are second on 37 points from 17 matches, one behind Barca. Rayo are 13th with 20 points.
Already missing France captain Kylian Mbappe with a leg muscle injury, Real manager Carlo Ancelotti decided to rest Vinicius Jr from the start and Rayo Vallecano took a two-goal lead in the first half thanks to mistakes.
Rayo stunned the champions with a goal after four minutes on counter when Jorge de Frutos ran past Fran Garcia before crossing to the unmarked Unai Lopez whose header at the far post beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
They extended their lead when Abdul Mumin was left alone behind Lucas Vazquez and nodded home from a corner in the 36th.
However, a thunderous Federico Valverde strike from long range got Real back in the game three minutes later with Rodrygo finding Jude Bellingham who netted a first-time effort from inside the box to level just before the break.
The Brazilian in the 56th gave Real the lead with a deflected strike from the edge of the area.
Ancelotti brought on Vinicius Jr to provide a spark Real were missing and Batalla made a fine save to deny him, with Arda Guler having a goal ruled out for offside minutes later.
Ancelotti’s side tried to push for the win, but Batalla denied efforts from Vinicius and substitute Endrick, with Ruediger missing a clear chance late on as Real had to settle for a draw that could prove costly in the title race.
BUNDESLIGA
AFP, MAINZ, Germany
Two goals from Lee Jae-sung lifted Mainz to a shock 2-1 home win over Bayern Munich on Saturday, handing manager Vincent Kompany his first league loss.
Lee scored in each half against an uncharacteristically poor Bayern, who are now just four points clear after Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s 2-0 win at Augsburg.
Union Berlin drew 1-1 at home against last-placed VfL Bochum in a game suspended by about half an hour after the visiting goalkeeper was hit by an object thrown from the crowd.
Bochum, were reduced to 10 men when Koji Miyoshi was red carded 13 minutes in, took the lead through Ibrahima Sissoko despite the deficit 10 minutes later. Union levelled things up through Benedict Hollerbach in the 33rd minute, but were unable to take advantage against their undermanned opponents.
With the game in stoppage time and Union pushing, Patrick Drewes was hit by what appeared to be a cigarette lighter, with the referee ordering the players off the pitch.
When they returned, both sides kicked the ball between themselves until the clock wound down, apparently in agreement not to attack after the incident.
Bochum striker Philipp Hofmann, who replaced Drewes between the sticks, said the incident was “a shame on an otherwise likeable club.”
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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