Sports
Welbeck scores brace as Brighton further sink Liverpool top five hopes
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Danny Welbeck scored brace as Brighton beat Liverpool 2-1 on Saturday to deal a major blow to the Reds’ push for a Champions League spot next season.
Arne Slot’s men came into the match on the sunny south coast in buoyant mood after hammering Galatasaray 4-0 in midweek to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
But a goal in each half from the evergreen Welbeck gave the home team a fourth win in five Premier League matches, keeping alive their own hopes of European football next season.
Liverpool were missing both goalkeeper Alisson Becker and forward Mohamed Salah at the Amex Stadium.
And they suffered a further injury blow early in the game when top scorer Hugo Ekitike hobbled off with an apparent dead leg after a firm challenge from former Liverpool stalwart James Milner.
The champions found themselves behind when Welbeck scored his 11th Premier League goal of the season in the 14th minute, nodding home from close range after Diego Gomez headed a cross-field pass back across the goal.
That made the 35-year-old former Manchester United and Arsenal forward the top English goal scorer in the league this season.
Liverpool found some rhythm after falling behind, and Alexis Mac Allister went close to an equaliser in the 22nd minute, but Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen got down smartly low to his left to claw the ball away.
However, the visitors were level in the 30th minute after some clever opportunism from left-back Milos Kerkez, capitalising on an error from Brighton captain Lewis Dunk, who paid the price for heading a high ball back to his goalkeeper without looking behind him.
Hungary defender Kerkez nipped in and produced a composed finish, flicking the ball over the stranded Verbruggen.
Brighton started the second half brightly and were back in front in the 56th minute, with Welbeck again on the scoresheet.
Yankuba Minteh’s pinpoint cross was played into Welbeck’s path by Jack Hinshelwood and he finished confidently, with the goal confirmed following a VAR check.
Welbeck, who made his Premier League debut for United in 2008, is enjoying his highest-scoring season in the league.
Slot threw on teenager Rio Ngumoha, Andy Robertson, and Federico Chiesa in a desperate search for an equaliser, but it was Brighton who remained the more threatening team.
Defeat leaves Liverpool fifth in the Premier League, two points behind Aston Villa and one ahead of Chelsea, with the top five almost certain to qualify for the Champions League next season.
The club’s Premier League title defence collapsed earlier in the season, but they remain alive in the Champions League and face Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals early next month.
Liverpool’s Brazilian international goalkeeper Alisson posted on social media that he would be “out of action for a while”.
AFP
Sports
EPL: Piers Morgan hails Saka, Gyökeres after Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Fulham
British broadcaster Piers Morgan has singled out two Arsenal players for praise as the Gunners defeated Fulham 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
A brace from Viktor Gyökeres and a goal from Bukayo Saka gave Mikel Arteta’s side the win over Fulham at the Emirates Stadium.
In a post on X, Morgan hailed Saka and Gyökeres, insisting that the pair have been brilliant for the Premier League North London club so far this season.
“3-0! Sensational stuff by Arsenal, best first-half performance of the season. These two [Saka and Viktor Gyökeres] have been brilliant,” Morgan wrote.
“But the whole team has played with fire and ferocity. Love it. Keep attacking, chaps, rack up a cricket score.”
The win over Fulham means Arsenal are now six points ahead of Manchester City in the Premier League table.
However, Pep Guardiola’s side has two games in hand and will face Everton on Monday.
Sports
Turkey: Osimhen fails to clinch Super Lig title after 4-1 defeat to Samsunspor
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen will have to wait another week in his quest to win back-to-back Turkish Süper Lig titles with Galatasaray.
The Yellow-Reds needed a win against Samsunspor on Saturday to be confirmed champions.
But they were hammered 4–1, despite opening the scoring in the ninth minute through Yunus Akgün.
The hosts responded with braces from Marius Mouandilmadji and Cherif Ndiaye.
The defeat leaves Galatasaray with 74 points, four more than their rivals Fenerbahçe.
Both teams have two games left to play.
A home win against Antalyaspor next weekend will see Galatasaray crowned champions for a record 26th time.
Sports
Just in: Arsenal regain confidence slam Fulham 3-0
Arsenal finally found their rhythm on Saturday as the Arteta lads thrashed Fulham 3-0 at the Emirates.
Without Bukayo Saka in their starting XI, Arsenal have stayed in the Premier League title race and are one game away from the Champions League final, but everyone at the Emirates could agree on this afternoon that life is much easier when their famous No 7 is starting games.
The prodigal son started his first match since his Achilles injury in the Carabao Cup final on March 22 and he needed just 45 minutes to take care of the afternoon’s business. A cross swept on to the toes of Viktor Gyokeres for the first goal, a shot whipped inside the near post of Bernd Leno’s goal for the second. Saka’s work was done. For once, Mikel Arteta and 60,000 anxious home fans could relax at three goals up at half-time, during which Saka was withdrawn to conserve his energy levels.
For Gyokeres it was a triumphant afternoon, featuring a return to the team in the Premier League – having lost his place to Kai Havertz – and two first-half goals. His was the assist for Saka, and everyone in a home shirt just looked the better for having the club’s best attacking player back on the right wing. Fulham’s players, suffering from a virus that had ruled out of contention Sander Berge, and slowed down many others, were blown away in the first half. They did at least get it together after the break.
Arsenal’s 23rd Premier League win of the season took them to 76 points, six better than Manchester City with their two games in hand.
Arteta could save Saka’s legs and also substitute Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Ben White long before the end, with Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Atlético Madrid in mind. Martín Zubimendi ended the game as Rice’s replacement. Myles Lewis-Skelly had a very decent 90-plus minutes – originally in midfield in Zubimendi’s place. Finally, a little rotation from Arteta, although still not a single minute for poor old Christian Norgaard. If not in a second half cruise like this one, when will he ever get a game?
A big first half for Arteta and his players, lifted by the third in the fourth minute of time added on when Gyokeres pulled away from Calvin Bassey and made himself a good target for Leandro Trossard’s cross.
This had been a very rewarding half for the Swedish forward. He has struggled this season, but against a Fulham team that was hemmed in and a pairing of Bassey and Joachim Andersen who were having a very bad afternoon, Gyokeres took his chances. Not all of it was perfect from the No 14 but if every game had been this straightforward he would not be wondering about his place in the team. It was his assist for the Saka goal too, a moment of good sensible running into the channel and waiting long enough for Saka to make the run.
Arsenal were excellent before the break. They played with intensity and their opposition were simply unable to get out of their own half for much of it. Marco Silva’s players did not register a single touch in the Arsenal penalty box before half-time. If this was indeed a team suffering a collective virus it seemed to be one that recreated the days of their abject away form. They were made to look ponderous at times, lightweight at others. Silva’s players can play a lot better.
Myles Lewis-Skelly started his first Arsenal senior game in midfield, in the absence of Martin Zubimendi and brought the necessary robustness as well as the energy. Back in the XI, Saka was a menace. Everything hit up to him stuck, including one cross field ball aimed at his neck just before half-time which he somehow controlled with one foot in touch and a defender all over him. His finish for the second Arsenal goal was clever – whipped in at Bernd Leno’s near post from the left side. He only needed to play a single half – Noni Madueke was on in his place at half-time.
Saka had made the first for Gyokeres, benefiting from Raul Jimenez’s slip. Saka might just have beaten him anyway but as it turned out he had time and space to pick out Gyokeres with Andersen having totally lost his man in the box. Arsenal would have five shots on target in the first half and the question was chiefly whether they would get a decent return on their dominance. Riccardo Calafiori’s header from Trossard’s cross was nicely placed but the full-back was well offside.
No such problems deep into injury time when Fulham were caught on the counter and Trossard took Timothy Castagne for a long run down the left. Castagne never got close and by the time Trossard looked up, Gyokeres had made some space for himself.
Gyokeres’s second goal took him to 21 for the season, the first Arsenal player to score more than 20 in all competitions in their debut season since Alexis Sanchez in 2014-2015. Fulham came back into the game after the break, or at least held their own. Calafiori hit the bar with a header. In the 72nd minute, Castagne registered a shot on target – the first for Fulham. Trossard’s performance indicated he will be in contention to start on Tuesday on the left of the attackers, and no question who will start on the opposite flank.
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