Football

In a rip-roaring game at Elland Road on Wednesday, Leeds United claimed their first home victory for three months. They defeated Newcastle United 5-2. Late goals by Stuart Dallas, Ezgjan Alioski, and Jack Harrison gave Marcelo Bielsa's side all 3 points. Leeds were all over Newcastle from the off. But Jeff Hendrick gave the visitors the lead against the run of play. Moments later Patrick Bamford nodded in a close-range equalizer. Just past the hour mark, a superb move saw Rodrigo head the hosts in front. But Leeds' defensive frailties allowed defender Ciaran Clark to pull Newcastle back three minutes later on level terms. However, Leeds found another gear. And before Alioski and Harrison put the icing on the cake with excellent counter-attacking goals, Dallas headed in a cross b...

Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Anfield to open a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. Liverpool have 28 points, with Spurs now second on 25 points with 13 games played by both teams. In the 26th minute, when Salah's shot deflected off Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld. It looped into the far corner and took the lead. Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead, and although the home side dominated, it was the visitors who had the best chances after the break. But seven minutes later, Tottenham struck back. Giovani Lo Celso breaking heavily before finding Son, who beat Alisson with a clever and composed finish. Spurs had two great opportunities to go ahead. Steven Bergwijn also burst into the box and holding off Trent Alexander-Arnold but his shot hit the post. ...

Real Madrid beat 10-man Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to go level on points at the top of La Liga. Real were fresh from a big 2-0 win over city rivals Atletico and now cruised another win to take them to third. Raul Garcia was sent off after being given his second yellow card in the opening 13 minutes for a pair of fouls. In the latter stages of the first half, Zidane's side took firm control. And it eventually paid off with an exquisite strike from Toni Kroos just before the break. The score was leveled shortly after the break by Bilbao, who had looked threatening at times in the first half. When Thibaut Courtois spilled Ander Capa's close-range shot right back in his direction and the Athletic man tucked away from the rebound. The top scorer for Real Madrid, Benzema, shot the hosts out i...

Portuguese winger Pedro Neto fired in a stoppage-time winner to hand Chelsea back-to-back losses in the Premier League. Chelsea had a wonderful chance of going top on a night but they couldn’t. Chelsea first lost the lead and then the game as Olivier Giroud put Chelsea in front only for Daniel Podence to level. But Neto still proved to be the hero as he slotted home deep in the 95th minute. It was a cagey first half with few openings, but two excellent opportunities were produced by Chelsea. In the 19th minute, Giroud had a great chance from Ben Chilwell's corner, but he headed over. And Kurt Zouma was unfortunate not to hit the back of the net in the last minute of the first half. Also, Giroud unable to respond fast enough to put away the loose ball. A speculative Neto effor...

Nobody found it shocking when Borussia Dortmund announced the dismissal of Lucien Favre. The crushing 5-1 loss to newly-promoted Stuttgart on Saturday was the straw that eventually broke the patience of Dortmund. Favre, with a reputation for stylish games, arrived in Dortmund in 2018. His OGC Nice team played attractive Ligue 1 football but were unable to win a trophy. At Dortmund, what followed was similar to carbon copying. The high point came early in the 2018-19 Bundesliga, with Dortmund taking the early lead. Football was high-octane, and Jadon Sancho saw the rise of a new superstar. Dortmund kept a six-point advantage at the top of the table when the winter break kicked in and beat Bayern Munich in front of the Yellow Wall. But Bayern hit form when the season restarted....

Ajax winger Quincy Promes was arrested in connection with a serious stabbing incident involving a family member. The club is yet to make any comment on the case, except to confirm that the Dutch international missed training on Sunday. Promes is accused of 'significant physical abuse' dating back to a family meeting in Abcoude in July, De Telegraaf says. On Sunday, a judge will determine whether to refer the case to trial, which may lead to an extension of his remand. Promes faces up to four years in jail if found guilty. The incident happened at the end of the summer but was only confirmed last month to the police. De Telegraaf appears to be in the dark on why he is being arrested only now but police spokesman Jelmer Geerds denied that Ajax's schedule had been taken into acc...

Christmas will come early for Premier League fans as the champions host the leaders in a mouth-watering midweek showdown. Liverpool welcomes Tottenham Hotspur to Anfield on Wednesday night. The two sides are divided by just the goal difference going into the competition. But at the weekend, both will look to bounce back from an underwhelming 1-1 draw. So far this season, Liverpool and Spurs have an identical record of seven wins, four draws, and one loss. Also, two home wins and two away draws from their last four league games. The rivalry on Wednesday also pits the best assault of the league against the best defense of the league. And the best home form against one of the best away records this season in the division. In their last two league games at Anfield, they had comfo...

With a 1-1 draw in front of a live audience at Craven Cottage, Fulham created a shock upset against Liverpool. Liverpool started the game believing that three points would push them into first place above Tottenham. Fulham, meanwhile, realized that a critical three points would help to distance themselves from the relegation zone. But the points were shared. In the 13th minute, Ivan Cavaleiro found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Alisson but the Allison made a fine save from close range. With an excellent finish by forward Bobby Decordova-Reid, the home side got their goal in the 25th minute. After the break, in the 61st minute, Jordan Henderson came close to leveling the score. But Henderson's shot failed to reach the back of the net following a super stop from keeper Alp...

Arsenal hit a new low on Sunday as they lost 1-0 to Burnley courtesy of an own goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Granit Xhaka's sending off. Mikel Arteta's side enjoyed a spell of heavy pressure, checking Burnley before the halftime. But they couldn’t find the net. Pope had held Burnley on even terms with a strong save with his feet in the 28th minute from Alexandre Lacazette. An early opportunity was missed by Burnley striker Chris Wood when Robbie Brady found him unmarked in the box. But he failed to hit the target. Even after the start of the second half, Arsenal were looking bright. Pope made a reaction save after the interval from a Bukayo Saka snap-shot. But suddenly Xhaka was sent off after a VAR analysis caught him grabbing the throat of Burnley's Ashley Westwood. ...

FIFA has confirmed that the three finalists are The Best FIFA Men's Player, Juventus attacker Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski. A shortlist of 11 players was announced for the award on November 25. The Bayern striker leading the charge after a prolific campaign in which, amid a flurry of goals, he led his club to a treble. In both 2016 and 2017, Ronaldo won the award when he dominated the vote after guiding Real Madrid to consecutive Champions League trophies. However, since then with Juventus, he has completed a move to Italy, although he remains a prolific scorer. Messi, meanwhile, is the reigning holder of the prize. He is considered to have had a disappointing year for his Barcelona side by his standards in the ...