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Mac Allister Fires Liverpool Back To EPL Summit Ahead Man United Showdown

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Alexis Mac Allister fired Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League as the Argentine’s superb strike inspired a tense 3-1 win against lowly Sheffield United on Thursday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were growing anxious after Darwin Nunez’s early opener was cancelled out by Conor Bradley’s own goal in the second half.

But Mac Allister eased the nerves around Anfield with a brilliant finish from the edge of the area and Cody Gakpo sealed the points in the closing moments.

On a potentially pivotal evening in the title race, Liverpool moved two points clear of second placed Arsenal with eight games left for each of the three teams involved in a gripping battle for supremacy.

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Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Luton had knocked Liverpool out of pole position on Wednesday, with third-placed Manchester City’s 4-1 rout of Aston Villa keeping them in the hunt.

But Liverpool, unbeaten in their last 28 home league matches, are now a step closer to being crowned English champions for a record-equalling 20th time and first since 2020.

Klopp’s treble chasers have already won the League Cup and face Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals as they eye a memorable farewell for the German in his last season.

However, they will have to improve on this erratic display to hold off Arsenal and champions City, who are three points adrift of Liverpool.

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Liverpool head to Manchester United in the league on Sunday for a crucial clash with their bitter rivals.

The Reds had to come from behind to beat Brighton last weekend, but Klopp insisted he was feeling “calm” as the title race approaches a dramatic climax.

Even so, his heart must have been beating a little faster than usual when United almost snatched a shock lead.

Jack Robinson’s long throw reached the unmarked James McAtee in the area and on-loan Manchester City youngster’s volley forced a reflex save from Caoimhin Kelleher.

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From the resulting corner, Ben Brereton Diaz almost tapped in at the far post as the Liverpool defence stood statuesque.

United keeper Ivo Grbic handed Liverpool the lead in farcical fashion after 17 minutes.

Needlessly taking far too long to clear on the edge of his area, Grbic was charged down by Nunez, the ball hitting the Uruguay striker on the backside as it rolled into the empty net.

Grbic sheepishly plucked the ball from the back of the net as Nunez celebrated his 19th goal in all competitions this season.

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Joe Gomez, Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz all went close from long-range as Liverpool threatened to deliver the knockout blow.

But as torrential rain lashed down on Anfield, the floodgates refused to open as Liverpool’s territorial dominance failed to yield a second goal before half-time.

Bottom of the table United have won just three times during a dismal league campaign that looks certain to end with relegation.

Yet they rocked Anfield to its foundations in the 58th minute.

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Gustavo Hamer’s superb pass picked out McAtee on the right flank and he cleverly cut back inside before whipping a cross into the area.

Hamer had carried on his burst forward and his close-range header beat Kelleher via a decisive deflection off Bradley’s foot.

Klopp responded by surprisingly hauling off Salah as Harvey Elliott came on for the Egypt forward, whose glum face and limp handshake with his manager betrayed his disappointment at the move.

With the gesticulating Klopp growing frustrated with Liverpool’s impotence, Andrew Robertson volleyed wide at the far post.

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But Klopp’s angst was finally soothed in the 76th minute when Robertson’s cross was only cleared to the edge of the area, where Mac Allister lashed a blistering strike into the top corner.

Gakpo put the seal on Liverpool’s hard-fought victory in the 90th minute as he stooped to head in Robertson’s cross.

AFP

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Liverpool Legend, Mo Salah Joins Tranzonspor On Two-Year Deal

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MOHAMED SALAH has agreed to join Turkish side Tranzonspor on a free transfer.

The Liverpool legend had been a free agent since his contract at Anfield expired at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

Salah, 34, has agreed to move to Turkey on a two-year contract.

Tranzonsport confirmed that they were in negotiations with the attacker on social media.

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The club then revealed that Salah would be arriving in Istanbul on Wednesday ahead of finalising the transfer.

A statement read: “Professional footballer Mohamed Salah, with whom we have begun transfer negotiations, will be at Istanbul Atatürk Airport General Aviation Terminal at 12:00 on Wednesday, August 5 (tomorrow).

“The player is scheduled to arrive in Trabzon on the same day in the evening hours.

“The time and other details regarding the welcome program in Trabzon will be shared with the public through our club’s official communication channels during the day.”

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It read: “Professional footballer Mohamed Salah, with whom we have begun transfer negotiations, will be at Istanbul Atatürk Airport General Aviation Terminal at 12:00 on Wednesday, August 5 (tomorrow).

“The player is scheduled to arrive in Trabzon on the same day in the evening hours.

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Infantino Could Have Earned £47m Annually From Abandoned World Cup Proposal

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FIFA president Gianni Infantino could have earned nearly £47 million ($63 million) annually if his controversial proposal to sell a stake in the FIFA World Cup had gone ahead, according to reports.

The proposed deal was abandoned following widespread opposition from football governing bodies and member associations, with reports suggesting it could have increased Infantino’s annual earnings by about £42 million from his current salary of approximately £4.5 million.

That would have taken his total annual compensation to almost £1 million per week.

The plan involved raising about £3.1 billion in private investment for FIFA’s Football Future Enterprise (FFE) project. Investment bank JP Morgan was reportedly advising on the initiative, while Thrive Capital, backed by Jared Kushner, was among the investors expected to acquire a 20 per cent stake.

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Infantino had repeatedly insisted that “nobody is selling football” as criticism of the proposal mounted.

UEFA reportedly spearheaded the opposition, with its member associations threatening to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation also voiced their opposition, while England’s Football Association backed UEFA’s position.

The FA called for a comprehensive review of FIFA’s leadership and governance, stressing the need for greater transparency and long-term protection of the global game.

Facing mounting pressure, Infantino eventually announced that the proposal would not proceed, saying the project had created divisions that were no longer in the interest of its intended objectives.

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“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” he said.

Infantino added that FIFA’s purpose remained to unite and improve the sport, while pledging to bring football stakeholders together and rebuild unity.

Despite the collapse of the proposal and the criticism surrounding his leadership, reports indicate that Infantino intends to seek another term as FIFA president at the organisation’s 2027 election.

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Oshoala Scores As 10-Woman Super Falcons Defeat Zambia In WAFON 2026 Cracker

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After loosing to Malawi in there Opening match of 2026 WAFCON cracker, The Super Falcons dig deep to secure a vital victory over Zambia in Rabat, despite playing the entire second half with 10 players.

The Super Falcons stumbled to a catastrophic loss in their July 28 opener against Malawi but put up a disciplined display against Zambia, a tournament favourite, to earn their first three points of the tournament on Saturday night.

Head Coach Justin Madugu made five changes to the side, bringing in six-time CAF Women’s Player of the Year winner Asisat Oshoala in place of Toronto-based Esther Okoronkwo, and Rofiat Imuran for Shukurat Oladipo.

The Copper Queens of Zambia came into the side with a lot of confidence after thrashing Egypt 6–0 in their opener, and it showed from the first blast of the whistle.

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A misplaced possession move led to a turnover, with Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade sending a long ball toward Oshoala, whose speed helped her beat the Zambian defence and allowed her to get to the ball before the Zambian goalkeeper, who saved the initial attempt but was unable to stop the ball from ricocheting off Oshoala for the only goal of the encounter.

It was Oshoala’s 15th WAFCON goal in a storied career.

The Super Falcons went a woman down when Oluwatosin Demehin got sent off for bringing down the Copper Queens’ captain, Barbara Banda.

The game plan changed from then, as the Super Falcons maintained a strong defensive shape and only attempted forays into the opponent’s half on the counter.

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In the end, their defensive grit, captain Ajibade’s disciplined play, and good goalkeeping from Chiamaka Nnadozie helped the Super Falcons to secure their first three points of WAFCON 2026.

Attention will now turn to the Cleopatras of Egypt, whom they face on Wednesday for a chance to progress to the next round.

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