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Liverpool Beat Brighton, Man City Oust Beckham’s Salford From FA Cup
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Mohamed Salah struck as Liverpool cruised into the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-0 win over Brighton on Saturday, while Marc Guehi scored his first goal for Manchester City in a 2-0 victory over fourth-tier Salford.
Brighton had beaten Manchester United in round three, but the Seagulls have been in miserable form since and were easily beaten by an improving Liverpool at Anfield.
Curtis Jones was forced to start in an unusual role at right-back due to a number of defensive injuries for the English champions and burst into the box to open the scoring from Milos Kerkez’s cross.
Salah has been a shadow of his former self for most of the season, but a second-half goal and assist could prove a major confidence boost.
The Egyptian’s cushioned pass set Dominik Szoboszlai clear to hammer in Liverpool’s second before Salah converted his 252nd goal for the Reds from the penalty spot.
Owned by Manchester United legends David Beckham and Gary Neville, Salford were playing in the fourth round for the first time in their history.
The League Two side were humbled 8-0 when they faced City in the third round last season, but pushed Pep Guardiola’s men far closer on Saturday.
“They defended really well, so tight and we didn’t attack the spaces the way we should. The game was flat until we scored the second goal,” Guardiola said.
City took an early lead through Alfie Dorrington’s own goal, but there were only nine minutes left when England defender Guehi delivered the decisive blow with his maiden goal since signing from Crystal Palace in January.
Newcastle rally
Sandro Tonali scored twice as Newcastle came from behind to beat 10-man Aston Villa 3-1.
Another opportunity for Unai Emery’s men to end a 30-year wait for silverware vanished after a first-half red card for goalkeeper Marco Bizot.
Tammy Abraham had fired the home side in front with his first goal since returning to Villa last month.
But the game swung in the Magpies’ favour when Bizot charged off his line to wipe out Jacob Murphy and deny a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Newcastle’s fightback saved the officials from an embarrassing moment, becoming more controversial when Lucas Digne’s handball, which was clearly inside the box, was given as a free-kick instead of a penalty.
With VAR not in operation at this stage of the competition, the decision could not be reviewed.
Former England captain Wayne Rooney described the incident as “one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen!”
But Newcastle levelled from the resulting free-kick anyway as Tonali’s strike deflected past the helpless Emi Martinez.
Tonali has been linked with a move to Arsenal come the end of the season and the Italian showed why he is in-demand with a blistering strike from outside the box to turn the tie around.
Nick Woltemade then netted his first goal in 15 games to take Newcastle, who last lifted the trophy in 1955, into the last 16.
Burnley gamble backfires
Third-tier Mansfield produced the upset of the day by winning 2-1 at Premier League Burnley to reach the fifth round for the first time since 1975.
Burnley boss Scott Parker made nine changes and the gamble backfired despite taking the lead through Josh Laurent’s 21st-minute goal.
Rhys Oates headed in the equaliser in the 53rd minute and Louis Reed capped a fine individual performance with a brilliant free-kick 10 minutes from full-time.
Ten-man West Ham edged through as the in-form Crysencio Summerville clinched a 1-0 win at League One Burton after extra-time.
AFP
Alexander Isak struck twice inside the opening nine minutes as Liverpool secured their first English Premier League victory of the season with a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town on Friday.
The Swedish forward put the visitors in control almost immediately, ending a tense opening spell with two clinical finishes that gave Liverpool a comfortable cushion before the hosts could settle.
Liverpool needed only six minutes to break the deadlock. Cody Gakpo created the opportunity with his effort forcing a save, but Isak reacted quickest to the rebound and fired home.
Three minutes later, Gakpo again turned provider, picking out Isak on the left. The striker made no mistake, sending a low effort into the bottom corner to double Liverpool’s advantage.
The two goals took Isak’s season tally to three in as many league appearances, already matching the number he managed throughout the whole of the previous campaign.
With the visitors firmly in command, Ipswich struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, while Liverpool concentrated on protecting their advantage after the interval.
The Reds appeared to have earned a chance to extend their lead when they appealed for a penalty in the second half, but the decision was overturned after a VAR review found an offside in the build-up.
Ipswich pushed forward late in search of a way back into the contest, but Liverpool’s defence held firm and the hosts were unable to produce the finishing touch required to trouble the visitors.
The victory extended Liverpool’s unbeaten run at Portman Road to seven matches and delivered their first clean sheet of the campaign.
The result also gave coach Andoni Iraola his first clean sheet since taking charge during the summer.
Liverpool’s three points moved them into fifth position in the Premier League standings with five points from three matches.
An F-4 Phantom military aircraft crashed Saturday at a base outside Athens during an airshow, Greek news agency ANA reported.
The circumstances of the crash were unclear, as was the fate of the two pilots aboard, local media said.
The aircraft had just taken off when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed, said a journalist from public broadcaster ERT who was at the scene.
There was an explosion immediately after the crash, which happened before thousands of visitors watching the annual “Athens Flying Week”.
A fire service helicopter was dispatched to the scene to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash, ERT reported.
Defence Minister Nikos Dendias cancelled a trip to Thessaloniki’s International Fair to visit the scene of the accident.
Serena and Venus Williams electrified Arthur Ashe Stadium but fell to Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint in three thrilling sets in their return to the US Open women’s doubles on Friday.
The superstar sisters, whose 14 Grand Slam doubles titles include two US Opens, rallied from a break down in the third set and led the deciding 10-point tiebreaker 5-0 but fell 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7).
Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, hadn’t played Grand Slam doubles since the 2022 US Open and last won a title together at Roland Garros in 2018.
They showed flashes of their brilliant best, Serena proving particularly dangerous patrolling the net but struggling with her serve.
After recovering from losing the first set to level the match in the second-set tiebreaker.
They belted no fewer than 20 winners in the set, holding serve throughout, and leveled the match when Joint smacked an overhead long to roars from the crowd.
Chan and Joint regrouped to seize a 4-2 lead in the third. The sisters rallied, but get to the finish line as Taiwan’s Chan and Joint fought back superbly to clinch the victory.
The 44-year-old had returned to major singles play as a Wimbledon wild card four years after “evolving away” from the game.
At the All-England club, she lost to Joint in a Centre Court clash that captured the imagination of both diehard and casual tennis fans.
Even that experience didn’t prepare Joint for the atmosphere on the cavernous Ashe Stadium.
The sisters received a thunderous ovation when they took court, all business in understated white outfits.
Every blistering volley and overhead smash from the Americans received raucous cheers, and when they sprinted to the lead in the decisive 10-point tiebreaker, the noise was deafening
“The atmosphere was surreal,” Joint said. “Being able to play against such legends of the game is super special.”
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