Sports
Liverpool Held By Fulham After Last-Gasp Reed Rocket
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Liverpool were held to a dramatic 2-2 draw by Fulham on Sunday as Harrison Reed scored a stunning stoppage-time equaliser just moments after Cody Gakpo netted for the Reds.
Gakpo had seemingly put Liverpool on course for victory at Craven Cottage with his strike in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
But Reed hauled Fulham level with a superb long-range blast to dent Liverpool’s push to finish in the Premier League’s top four.
On a controversial afternoon in west London, Arne Slot’s side had trailed to Harry Wilson’s first-half goal.
Fulham’s opener had been awarded after VAR rejected the initial offside decision against Wilson.
While that appeared to be the correct decision, there was far more doubt about Florian Wirtz’s leveller.
The German was originally ruled offside, and Fulham’s players were so confident that it was the right call that they had virtually stopped before Wirtz took his shot.
However, the VAR official disagreed, ruling that Wirtz was played onside by the narrowest of margins, even though his foot seemed in an offside position.
Fourth-placed Liverpool are now unbeaten in their last nine games in all competitions ahead of a trip to Premier League leaders Arsenal on Thursday.
But it was another far from convincing display from the Reds following the goalless stalemate against Leeds on New Year’s Day.
French striker Hugo Ekitike was absent due to a hamstring injury, and, with Alexander Isak also injured and Mohamed Salah at the Africa Cup of Nations, Slot used Wirtz, Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai in his makeshift attack.
After kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes due to a medical emergency at Craven Cottage, Liverpool immediately looked out of sync.
Gakpo wasted two early opportunities with a deflected strike that whistled wide before he made a hash of finishing off Curtis Jones’ pass.
Liverpool were punished for their spluttering start in the 17th minute when Raul Jimenez’s pass beat the Fulham offside trap.
With Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk flat-footed, Wilson scampered onto the through ball and planted a composed finish past Alisson Becker.
The goal was initially disallowed for offside before a VAR check allowed Wilson to celebrate scoring against his former club.
Alexis Mac Allister nearly ended Liverpool’s malaise with a thumping header that smacked off the bar from Szoboszlai’s corner early in the second half.
That was the spark for Liverpool’s 57th-minute equaliser.
Conor Bradley surged through the heart of the Fulham defence and slipped a pass to Wirtz, who slotted into the far corner from six yards.
The German’s celebrations were initially curtailed by the offside flag, but after a lengthy review, he celebrated his second goal since his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen.
Liverpool had an incredible escape when Jimenez was unable to finish after bursting through, Wilson chipping the rebound onto the bar before Van Dijk cleared the follow-up off the line.
They looked set to make the most of that let-off when Gakpo prodded Jeremie Frimpong’s cross into the net from close range in the dying moments.
But Reed had other ideas, leaving Liverpool stunned as he drove a sublime strike into the top corner from 30 yards for his first goal since April 2023.
The Super Falcons of Nigeria were up against South Africa in the 2027 Women’s World Cup play-off and needed a victory to move to the next stage – the intercontinental play-offs.
Two tickets were up for grabs, with four losing quarter-finalists at the 2027 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) battling for them.
Already, Ghana has defeated Côte d’Ivoire to pick one of the tickets. Thank you for following the live updates of the South Africa vs Nigeria 2027 Women’s World Cup play-off game.
98′ – It is full-time, and Nigeria have lost 2-1 against South Africa. It is the end of the road for the Super Falcons, who won’t be at the World Cup for the first time since the tournament’s inception.
93′ – Ucheibe scores for Nigeria.
92′ – Nigeria gets a penalty, and it is also a red card for South Africa after their player blocked the ball with her hand.
91′ – Justine Madugu gets a yellow card.
77′ – South Africa scores the second goal. It is 2-0 against Nigeria.
75′ – Uchenna Kanu’s header is parried away for a corner kick.
60′ – Chiamaka Nnadozie saves Nigeria, preventing South Africa from scoring again.
56′ – South Africa takes the lead! It is 1-0 to the Banyana Banyana!
54′ – Justine Madugu throws Joy Omewa into the fray. She replaces Asisat Oshoala.
48′ – Oshoala shoots into the goalkeeper.
46′ – The second half is underway!
HT: It is half-time in an evenly balanced game in the 2027 Women’s World Cup play-off between South Africa and Nigeria.
45′ – One more minute added. It is still no goal yet.
40′ – Michelle Alozie’s shot goes narrowly wide for a goal-kick to South Africa.
35′ – No goals in Casablanca in a game of few chances.
28′ – Rasheedat Ajibade’s free kick straight to the South African goalkeeper.
23′ – A South African ball over the top fails to find any Banyana Banyana.
20′ – Twenty minutes in and nothing has separated the teams. No clear-cut chances so far from either country at the Moulay Rachid Stadium.
10′ – Nigeria are pressing for an early goal, but it is still goalless.
1′ – The World Cup play-off between South Africa and Nigeria has kicked off!
Barcelona have reached a final agreement with Paris Saint-Germain for Ferran Torres in a deal which will see the Spain star head to Parc des Princes on a transfer worth €50 million.
The two clubs have been in talks for a while and the deal is now done, according to Fabrizio Romano. Torres has been absent from Barcelona training for the last two days and is now heading to Paris to complete his move.
Torres will sign a five-year contract with PSG and link up with Luis Enrique’s side after scoring the winning goal for Spain in the World Cup final.
The 26-year-old was into the final year of his contract at Barcelona but will now seek a new challenge in Ligue 1 with the French giants.
Barcelona had reportedly been reluctant to extend Torres’s contract, as they would have had to pay an extra €8 million to Manchester City, while there’s been speculation the Spain star was happy to move on after feeling undervalued by Barca.
Cameroon shocked hosts Morocco 3-1 on penalties on Wednesday night to reach the final of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after a tense semi-final ended goalless following extra time in Rabat.
The Indomitable Lionesses held their nerve at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium after 120 minutes without a goal.
Morocco had a golden chance to settle the game in the 118th minute when they were awarded a penalty, but Fatima Tagnaout failed to convert, leaving the hosts to pay a heavy price for the miss.
Marie Ngah, Rose Bella and Myriam Nyadjou scored for Cameroon in the shootout, while Hanane Aït El Haj was Morocco’s only successful taker. Kenza Chapelle, Meryem Atiq and Sakina Ouzraoui all missed as Cameroon secured their fourth appearance in the WAFCON final.
Cameroon remained organised and continued to frustrate the hosts until the end of regulation time. Extra time followed, with the match seemingly heading for penalties before Morocco were handed their best opportunity two minutes from the end.
Tagnaout took responsibility from the spot but could not beat the goalkeeper, sending the game into a shootout.
Morocco had won their previous two WAFCON semi-finals on penalties, against Nigeria in 2022 and Ghana in 2024, but their luck deserted them this time.
Aït El Haj converted Morocco’s first penalty before Chapelle missed the second. Ngah scored for Cameroon, although Grace Mendoua missed the Indomitable Lionesses’ next attempt. Bella then put Cameroon back in front, while Antique failed to convert Morocco’s third.
Nyadjou scored Cameroon’s fourth penalty, leaving Ouzraoui with the task of keeping Morocco’s hopes alive. She missed, confirming Cameroon’s 3-1 victory in the shootout.
The win is a major boost for Cameroon, who had lost their previous three WAFCON penalty shootouts, including their 2018 semi-final defeat by Nigeria.
The Indomitable Lionesses have now eliminated defending champions Nigeria and hosts Morocco in successive knockout rounds.
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