Liverpool tame Man U, extend lead

Liverpool, January 19

Liverpool moved 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 14th-minute Virgil van Dijk header and a stoppage-time strike from Mohamed Salah gave them a 2-0 win over Manchester United at Anfield today.

Juergen Klopp’s side, chasing their first league title in 30 years, also have a game in hand on second-placed Manchester City with the title race appearing more of a procession than a contest. "We’re enjoying our football. You have to stay hungry and keep wanting more," said Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.

For United, who battled hard but were outclassed in all departments, it was another reminder of just how much work is ahead of them if they are to get back to being in contention for titles. United are in fifth place, five points behind Chelsea

Yesterday, Pep Guardiola’s 49th birthday celebrations went flat as Fernandinho’s late own goal forced Manchester City to settle for a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace. — Agencies

Casemiro scores 2 to see off Sevilla

Madrid: Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro produced a performance worthy of a top striker by scoring twice in a 2-1 win for Zinedine Zidane’s side over Sevilla on Saturday that took them top of La Liga for at least 24 hours. Sevilla, however, were left fuming by the decision to rule out a first-half header from Luuk de Jong from a corner after a VAR review of a challenge by midfielder Nemanja Gudelj on Real defender Eder Militao. Brazilian Casemiro, initially deployed as a holding midfielder, broke the deadlock in the 57th minute with an ice-cool dinked finish after a back-heel from Serbian forward Luka Jovic released him in the area.

Haaland bags hat-trick on Dortmund debut

Berlin: Norwegian rising star Erling Braut Haaland came off the bench to claim a hat-trick inside 20 minutes on his Borussia Dortmund debut and inspire a 5-3 comeback win at Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday — despite not being fully fit. Today, Champions Bayern Munich scored four times in 24 minutes in the second-half to crush hosts Hertha Berlin 4-0 and move into second place.

Inter Milan trip again with draw against Lecce

Berlin: Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation-battling Lecce in Serie A today, as Antonio Conte’s side dropped points for the second weekend in a row. Inter substitute Alessandro Bastoni headed in a second-half opener four minutes after coming on, but Lecce soon drew level through captain Marco Mancosu. Reuters

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