Sports
Liverpool Title Hopes Ebb Away After West Ham Draw
Jurgen Klopp said he was “not in the mood” to discuss Liverpool’s Premier League title chances after a 2-2 draw at West Ham on Saturday effectively snuffed out their hopes.
Just weeks ago Liverpool were on course for a quadruple of trophies but Klopp’s final season at Anfield is fizzling out.
The latest blow came at the London Stadium, where the visitors realistically had to win to have any chance of staying in the hunt alongside Arsenal and Manchester City.
A goal from Andy Robertson and an own goal from West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola put Liverpool 2-1 in front but Michail Antonio powered a header past Allison Becker to pull David Moyes’s side level.
The single point leaves Liverpool third in the table on 75 points, one behind defending champions City, who have two games in hand. Leaders Arsenal are two points clear of Liverpool, with a game in hand.
Klopp, whose side were dumped out of the FA Cup and Europa League at the quarter-final stage, brushed aside questions about the title race in the aftermath of the disappointing draw.
“I’m not in the mood to talk about that to be honest or look at that at all,” he told TNT Sports.
“We had to win here, we knew that, and we didn’t, and now we have a little bit more time between now and the next game. We try to get the boys ready again and we will go again.”
The German bemoaned his side’s squandered chances, which have cost them dear in recent weeks.
“When we are 2-1 up we could control it, and still, as I said, in a lot of moments playing really well but the final situation we didn’t take,” he said. “That has been the story of the last four weeks.”
– Missed chances –
Liverpool were on the front foot from the start at the London Stadium but energy quickly drained out of the encounter and the atmosphere went flat.
West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta was lucky to escape punishment after a reckless early tackle on Alexis Mac Allister.
The contest livened up in the closing minutes of the first period, with Luis Diaz hitting the post for the visitors after good work down the left.
Two minutes later Liverpool goalkeeper Allison was called into action, making a sharp save from Jarrod Bowen’s deflected shot.
But he was powerless to keep out Bowen’s header from the resulting corner, which took the England forward to 16 Premier League goals this season.
Liverpool emerged for the second half with renewed intent and Ryan Gravenberch fired over from just inside the box.
They were back on terms in the 48th minute when Robertson squeezed a shot past Areola at his near post.
Gravenberch attempted a flick minutes later but the chance went begging.
Angelo Ogbonna then made a crucial block as the game opened up before Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot from distance was saved.
Liverpool got their noses in front in the 65th minute after Cody Gakpo’s shot hit Ogbonna, Tomas Soucek and Areola on its way into the net.
The visitors had chances to pull further ahead but Antonio headed home a Bowen cross in the 77th-minute to level.
Klopp threw on Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez after the equaliser in a desperate search for a winner.
Salah, who appeared to direct angry words at Klopp before he was introduced, raced forward as the clock ticked down.
His pass fell behind Nunez but Harvey Elliott picked up the ball, rattling a shot off the crossbar — Liverpool’s final clear chance.
West Ham, eighth in the Premier League table, face a battle in their bid to secure European football next season.
Moyes last season delivered the club’s first major trophy for 43 years but has been coy over his future.
AFP
Sports
Champions League: PSG, Dortmund win, Inter Milan hold Man City
Paris Saint-Germain needed a late dose of luck to beat Girona 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Ligue 1 champions toiled against the debutants at home for 88 minutes without finding the back of the net.
However, Nuno Mendes’ low cross was fumbled into his own net by goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
England Under-21 winger Jamie Gittens’ double set last year’s Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund on their way to a 3-0 victory at Club Brugge. Serhou Guirassy scored the third from the penalty spot.
Manchester City and Inter Milan played out a goalless draw at the Etihad.
In Scotland, Celtic thrashed Slovan Bratislava 5-1 to record their biggest win in the competition ever.
Sports
Rising Nigerian Football Star, Hadriel Gets Elite X1 Canada Invitation
Eleven year old high rising Nigerian football star Hadriel Chukwuziterem Opara who has been attracting the attention of football coaches and scouts has been selected as one of the 12 players across Canada that will represent Elite X1 Canada in the prestigious NIKE powered Norwich City Mna Cup UK taking place from October 10-14, 2024.
According to the letter of invitation from the organisers, the tournament will enable the players engage in top level competition with 16 academy teams from renowned clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon and Norwich City.
The invitation letter also noted that the players will be exposed to world class facilities at Norwich City FC’s State-of-the – art Lotus training centre featuring advanced training environments like the exclusive Soccer Bot 360 system.
The organisers while stating that the tournament will enable the players showcase their talents on an international stage, assured that all the matches will be filmed, providing a valuable footage that could open doors to future opportunities.
Meanwhile Hadriel a Pepsi Academy product who has not hidden his intention of playing for the National U-15 team noted that he’s humbled by the invitation expressing hope that the programme will help him further improve his football skill.
Sports
Just in: Delta grabs first position at national youth games
WITH 41 gold, 27 silver , and 30 bronze medals totalling 98, Delta State has emerged the winner of the 8th edition of the National Youth Games ( NYG), tagged Asaba 2024.
Latest update of proceedings released on Wednesday night showed that Lagos State has outpaced erstwhile second placed Edo State with a total medals haul of 62, comprising 25 gold, 19 silver and 18 bronze medals respectively .
Edo State is placed third with 17 gold, 12 silver and 24 bronze medals respectively.
Ebonyi and Zamfara States could not land any medal to their credit during the games, according to the medals table update so far.
The NYG is expected to come to a close today (Thursday), with the closing ceremony at the Stephen Keshi international Stadium, Asaba, the Delta, Nigeria.
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