Chelsea win again, Liverpool lose at Bournemouth in Premier League

Chelsea's Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic (C) celebrates scoring the team's third goal during the English Premier League match between Leicester City and Chelsea at King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England on Saturday. (AFP)
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Updated 12 March 2023
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Chelsea win again, Liverpool lose at Bournemouth in Premier League

  • Manchester City again looked far from their best but still kept the pressure on leaders Arsenal by beating Crystal Palace 1-0 away

LONDON:  Chelsea might finally be finding their stride under Graham Potter while Liverpool’s up-and-down season took another nosedive in the English Premier League on Saturday.

Chelsea made it three straight wins in all competitions for the first time since October by beating Leicester 3-1 away, another sign that the expensively assembled team is starting to gel under Potter.

Liverpool, though, followed their record 7-0 win over archrival Manchester United by losing 1-0 at relegation-threatened Bournemouth — a team they beat 9-0 at home in August.

Manchester City again looked far from their best but still kept the pressure on leaders Arsenal by beating Crystal Palace 1-0 away thanks to a second-half penalty by Erling Haaland. That cut Arsenal’s lead to two points ahead of its visit to Fulham on Sunday.

Liverpool’s surprising loss threw away much of the momentum they had generated recently after a woeful first half of the season, and Jurgen Klopp’s team are six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the fight for the final Champions League place, albeit with a game in hand.

“This game was a massive knock,” Klopp said. “You know how it is with knocks, you have to take them and see how big the scars are and go from there.”

Tottenham beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 at home after Harry Kane scored twice in the first half.

Bournemouth began the day in last place but climbed up to 17th, with Everton also leaving the relegation zone after Dwight McNeil scored just 35 seconds into a 1-0 win over Brentford.

Leeds fell to 19th place despite rallying for a 2-2 home draw against Brighton.

The battle against the drop is exceedingly tight, though, with only four points separating Leeds from 12th-placed Crystal Palace.

Manchester City visited Palace in the late game trying to keep up the pressure on leaders Arsenal, who play at Fulham on Sunday.

CHELSEA THRIVING, LIVERPOOL STUMBLE

After knocking out Borussia Dortmund from the Champions League to reach the quarterfinals, Chelsea followed with a first away win in the league since Oct. 16.

“It’s been a really good week,” said Potter, whose job looks a lot more secure than it did last weekend.

Kai Havertz netted one of the best goals of the day to make it 2-1 just before halftime by volleying in a delicate lob over the goalkeeper after being teed up in the area by another lofted ball from record signing Enzo Fernandez.

Ben Chilwell put Chelsea ahead in the 11th minute after meeting a high cross into the area with a low first-time shot from a difficult angle. Patson Daka equalized in the 39th. Mateo Kovacic added the third for Chelsea in the 78th.

Chelsea remained in 10th place but just five points behind fifth-placed Liverpool after Klopp’s side showed their inconsistency once again.

Philip Billing scored the only goal in the 28th minute after being teed up in the box by Dango Ouattara and Bournemouth managed to contain a Liverpool attack that was rampant against United last weekend.

Mohamed Salah summed up a frustrating afternoon for the Reds when he missed a penalty in the 70th by sending his effort wide, the first time he has missed the target from the spot in the Premier League.

HAALAND SCORES AGAIN

For 77 minutes at Selhurst Park, it looked like Palace manager Patrick Vieira could have a big say in the title race between his two former clubs and tilt the balance further in Arsenal’s favor by taking points off City.

But after defending resolutely for so long, Palace came undone at a corner and gave away a cheap penalty when Michael Olize clumsily clattered into Ilkay Gundogan in the area.

Haaland made no mistake from the spot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way for his 28th league goal to make up for having missed a stellar chance in the first half.

Palace’s lack of attacking threat at the other end was evident once again. Vieira’s team has not won a single game in 2023, and this was the third league match in a row when it didn’t manage a single shot on target.

LINEKER OFF AIR, IN THE STANDS

Taken off the air, Gary Lineker went into the stands.

Lineker attended the Leicester-Chelsea game amid a growing crisis at the BBC after the popular presenter of the highlights show “Match of the Day” was suspended by the broadcaster for comments criticizing the British government’s new asylum policy.

Lineker, the former England captain who began his professional playing career at Leicester, watched his former team in the stands and posed for photos with fans while the BBC scrambled to stem the fallout from the decision to take him off the air.

The broadcaster said it would air only “limited sport programming” over the weekend after hosts of many of its popular sports shows declined to appear, in solidarity with Lineker. The BBC’s Premier League coverage was especially affected as lunchtime TV program “Football Focus” and the early evening “Final Score” were both replaced with other programs, and Saturday’s edition of “Match of the Day” — the late-night soccer show that has been a British institution for 60 years — was set to be reduced to just a 20-minute compilation of match footage with no studio punditry and no player or manager interviews.

 

 


Five potential breakout stars to watch at Champions Trophy

Updated 28 sec ago
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Five potential breakout stars to watch at Champions Trophy

  • Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy took 14 wickets in India’s 4-1 T20I triumph over England this month 
  • Middle-order batter Tayyab Tahir was Pakistan’s breakout star in the 2023 Emerging Teams Asia Cup

DUBAI: The Champions Trophy starts on Wednesday in Pakistan and Dubai. AFP Sport highlights five less heralded players looking to make a name for themselves at the 50-over tournament:

A late entry into the Indian squad for the tournament, wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy adds value to the bowling line-up on expected slow pitches in Dubai.

The 33-year-old only made his ODI debut in this month’s England series after claiming 14 wickets in India’s 4-1 T20 triumph.

He has been a standout in the Indian Premier League 20-over tournament and played a key role with 21 wickets in Kolkata Knight Riders’ title triumph last year.

Chakravarthy is part of a formidable Indian spin attack, and coach Gautam Gambhir said he could offer the “X-factor.”

Middle-order batsman Tayyab Tahir was a breakout star for Pakistan in the 2023 Emerging Teams Asia Cup when his sparkling century led the team to victory in the final against arch-rivals India.

Tahir, 31, enjoyed a good run in the domestic circuit and a few T20 outings for Pakistan before making his ODI debut last year.

His scores in white-ball internationals have been moderate, with his highest 39 not out in a T20 game.

But Tayyab has had praise from pundits, with fast bowling great Wasim Akram calling him a “very exciting talent” after his batting blitz in the Pakistan Super League.

Somerset batsman Tom Banton joined England in India for the final ODI of this month’s series and showed glimpses of his talent in a 38-run knock for a losing cause.

The 26-year-old, who took guard at number three in Ahmedabad, came in as cover for injured Jacob Bethell and replaced him in England’s Champions Trophy squad.

Playing his seventh ODI and his first since August 2020, Banton took on the Indian spinners and made a six off Washington Sundar with a spectacular switch hit over backward point.

Banton has been in top form in T20 franchise cricket and is the leading batter in the United Arab Emirates’ premier competition, amassing 493 runs including two centuries from 11 innings.

Seam-bowling all-rounder Aaron Hardie, 26, gets his chance after the sudden retirement of Marcus Stoinis ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Hardie, a right-arm pacer and powerful batter, rattled Sri Lanka with figures of 2-13 and then made 32 with the bat before Australia went down in Colombo last week.

He turned heads in 2018 when he dismissed Indian top guns Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in a tour game for Cricket Australia XI and hit 86 with the bat.

Hardie made his white-ball debut for Australia in 2023 but is still awaiting a performance that cements his place in the team.

Standing an imposing six feet, four inches (1.93 meters), the fast bowler has impressed in his nine ODI matches and is set to play in his first ICC tournament.

The 23-year-old O’Rourke made his ODI debut in 2023 but it was his opening Test at home last year that got him attention after he claimed a match haul of nine wickets against South Africa.

He recently played a starring role with figures of 4-43 for the Black Caps in their win over Pakistan in the tri-series final in Karachi — the venue for the Champions Trophy opener between the same two teams.

With tearaway quick Ben Sears ruled out and Lockie Ferguson recovering from a hamstring injury, New Zealand will depend on O’Rourke and senior quick Matt Henry to fire.
 


All set for Champions Trophy start after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls

Updated 17 February 2025
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All set for Champions Trophy start after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls

  • Arch-rivals India and Pakistan, who only face off in international competitions because of the politics, clash in Dubai on Feb. 23 in the group phase
  • India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh form Group A while Australia, England, Afghanistan and South Africa are in Group B

KARACHI: The Champions Trophy begins Wednesday after a turbulent buildup that saw the tournament split between Pakistan and Dubai, and with England facing calls to boycott their match against Afghanistan.

The event, regarded as second only to the World Cup in the one-day game, runs until March 9 and is the first global cricket tournament hosted by Pakistan in nearly three decades.

India’s matches will however be played in the UAE after the sport’s financial superpower refused to visit their neighbor over long-standing political tensions.

A month-long impasse ended in December when the International Cricket Council said that India would play their games in Dubai.

It raises the prospect of the final of the eight-nation showpiece taking place there, rather than in Pakistan, if India get that far — a good chance given they are favorites to lift the trophy.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan, who only face off in international competitions because of the politics, clash in Dubai on Feb. 23 in the group phase.

England play Afghanistan three days later in Lahore in a match that has been met with a backlash in some quarters in Britain.

More than 160 British politicians called for a boycott in response to the Taliban government’s ban on women in sport.

England Cricket Board chairman Richard Thompson vowed the match would go ahead, saying a “coordinated international response” by the cricket community would achieve more than unilateral action.

The Champions Trophy will be Pakistan’s first ICC event since co-hosting the 1996 World Cup with India and Sri Lanka.

Karachi and Rawalpindi are the other Pakistani cities that will stage games.

Pakistan became a no-go area for foreign teams after the visiting Sri Lankan squad were attacked by gunmen in 2009, leaving eight people dead and wounding several touring players.

But with improved security across most of the country, international cricket returned to Pakistan in 2020.

India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh form Group A while Australia, England, Afghanistan and South Africa are in Group B.

Two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals in Dubai and Lahore.

Pakistan are reigning champions, having defeated India in the final in 2017 at The Oval in London.

But it is two-time winners India who are favorites, with superstar batsman Virat Kohli hoping to overcome a poor run of form by his sky-high standards.

It could be the 36-year-old’s last hurrah on the international stage, with captain Rohit Sharma also likely to retire after the tournament.

“India is playing superb all-round cricket and so are among the favorites for the Champions Trophy,” former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar told AFP.

“The other teams, in my opinion, to watch out for are defending champions Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa.”

India will however be missing ace pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

Australia beat hosts India to win the one-day World Cup in 2023 but they are missing several key players.

Their formidable pace attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are all out.

Coupled with the sudden retirement from ODIs of Marcus Stoinis and injury to Mitchell Marsh — both key all-rounders — and Australia suddenly look vulnerable.

They were well beaten 2-0 in Sri Lanka in a two-match series last week. Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy.

Pakistan will open the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy with a match against New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday.

The co-hosts are unpredictable, as they showed in the last edition of the tournament, losing to India by 124 runs in the opening match before winning the final against them by 180 runs.

England go into the competition under a cloud, having been outclassed by India in both a T20 and one-day series in the leadup.

With quality spinners led by Rashid Khan, Afghanistan are dangerous.

They shocked England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup and reached the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup last year.


Champions Trophy set for liftoff after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls

Updated 17 February 2025
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Champions Trophy set for liftoff after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls

  • This is the first global cricket tournament hosted by Pakistan in nearly three decades 
  • India’s matches will be played in Dubai after they refused to visit neighbor Pakistan 

KARACHI: The Champions Trophy begins Wednesday after a turbulent build-up that saw the tournament split between Pakistan and Dubai, and with England facing calls to boycott their match against Afghanistan.

The event, regarded as second only to the World Cup in the one-day game, runs until March 9 and is the first global cricket tournament hosted by Pakistan in nearly three decades.

India’s matches will however be played in the United Arab Emirates after the sport’s financial superpower refused to visit their neighbor over long-standing political tensions.

A month-long impasse ended in December when the International Cricket Council said that India would play their games in Dubai.

It raises the prospect of the final of the eight-nation showpiece taking place there, rather than in Pakistan, if India get that far — a good chance given they are favorites to lift the trophy.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan, who only face off in international competitions because of the politics, clash in Dubai on February 23 in the group phase.

England play Afghanistan three days later in Lahore in a match that has been met with a backlash in some quarters in Britain.

More than 160 British politicians called for a boycott in response to the Taliban government’s ban on women in sport.

England Cricket Board chairman Richard Thompson vowed the match would go ahead, saying a “coordinated international response” by the cricket community would achieve more than unilateral action.

The Champions Trophy will be Pakistan’s first ICC event since co-hosting the 1996 World Cup with India and Sri Lanka.

Karachi and Rawalpindi are the other Pakistani cities that will stage games.

Pakistan became a no-go area for foreign teams after the visiting Sri Lankan squad were attacked by gunmen in 2009, leaving eight people dead and wounding several touring players.

But with improved security across most of the country, international cricket returned to Pakistan in 2020.

India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh form Group A while Australia, England, Afghanistan and South Africa are in Group B.

Two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals in Dubai and Lahore.

Pakistan are reigning champions, having defeated India in the final in 2017 at The Oval in London.

But it is two-time winners India who are favorites, with superstar batsman Virat Kohli hoping to overcome a poor run of form by his sky-high standards.

It could be the 36-year-old’s last hurrah on the international stage, with captain Rohit Sharma also likely to retire after the tournament.

“India is playing superb all-round cricket and so are among the favorites for the Champions Trophy,” former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar told AFP.

“The other teams, in my opinion, to watch out for are defending champions Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa.”

India will however be missing ace pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

Australia beat hosts India to win the one-day World Cup in 2023 but they are missing several key players.

Their formidable pace attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are all out.

Coupled with the sudden retirement from ODIs of Marcus Stoinis and injury to Mitchell Marsh — both key all-rounders — and Australia suddenly look vulnerable.

They were well beaten 2-0 in Sri Lanka in a two-match series last week. Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy.

Pakistan will open the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy with a match against New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday.

The co-hosts are unpredictable, as they showed in the last edition of the tournament, losing to India by 124 runs in the opening match before winning the final against them by 180 runs.

England go into the competition under a cloud, having been outclassed by India in both a T20 and one-day series in the lead-up.

With quality spinners led by Rashid Khan, Afghanistan are dangerous.

They shocked England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup and reached the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup last year.


Fonseca, 18, captures Argentina Open title in landmark moment

Updated 17 February 2025
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Fonseca, 18, captures Argentina Open title in landmark moment

  • The 18-year-old, ranked 99 in the world and playing in his first tour-level final, came through 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) against his 28th-ranked opponent
  • The 2024 ATP NextGen champion is the youngest male player from South America to win a tour title

BUENOS AIRES: Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca became the 10th youngest champion in ATP Tour history when he swept past home hope Francisco Cerundolo in the final of the Argentina Open on Sunday.

The 18-year-old, ranked 99 in the world and playing in his first tour-level final, came through 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) against his 28th-ranked opponent.

Fonseca twice unsuccessfully served for the match but regrouped to claim victory in the tiebreak in a frenzied atmosphere in Buenos Aires.

The 2024 ATP NextGen champion is the youngest male player from South America to win a tour title while his victory will also see him rise to 68 when the new rankings are released on Monday.

“Unbelievable week, even in Argentina there are some Brazilians cheering for me,” Fonseca said on court.

“That’s just amazing. Every Brazilian, everyone from their country wants this support from your own country. For me, this moment that I’m living is just unbelievable.”

He added: “Of course I want to be No. 1, of course I want to win Slams, titles, but my dream is just to play tennis, and I’m living it.”

Cerundolo, seeking his fourth career title, was broken in the seventh game of the first set and fought off Fonseca when the teenager served for the trophy at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second.

However, the Brazilian impressively held his nerve in the tie-break and celebrated his triumph by collapsing in joy on the dusty, clay surface.

Fonseca made his maiden final the hard way — in Friday’s quarterfinals he saved two match points to defeat Mariano Navone in a match six minutes shy of three hours.

In all, he defeated four Argentinian players on the road to the trophy.

He had already announced himself on the scene in January when he came through qualifying at the Australian Open and defeated top 10 player Andrey Rublev in the first round.
 


Ludvig Aberg rallies down the stretch at Torrey Pines to win the Genesis Invitational

Updated 17 February 2025
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Ludvig Aberg rallies down the stretch at Torrey Pines to win the Genesis Invitational

  • The Genesis Invitational relocated to Torrey from Riviera because of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, and Aberg made good on another chance at one of his favorite courses
  • Aberg, who finished at 12-under 276, won $4 million for his third victory worldwide since turning pro in June 2023 as the top-ranked college player out of Texas Tech

SAN DIEGO: Ludvig Aberg returned to Torrey Pines in far better health and showed it Sunday when he birdied four of the last six holes, including a 7-foot birdie on the 18th, for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot victory over Maverick McNealy in the Genesis Invitational.

Aberg shared the 36-hole lead at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open three weeks ago until getting so sick he barely made it through the tournament and had to withdraw the following week, a nasty illness that caused him to lose 10 pounds.

The Genesis Invitational relocated to Torrey from Riviera because of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, and Aberg made good on another chance at one of his favorite courses.

The Swede said he turned to caddie Joe Skovron on one of the final holes and said, “This Sunday is a lot more fun than the last one we had.”

“It was a great fight,” Aberg said. “I’m really proud of the way I finished. It was really cool.”

This took all he had. McNealy birdied eight of his opening 11 holes and led by three shots when he stood on the 17th tee. He finished with a pair of pars for a 64.

Tournament host Tiger Woods watched a lot of the action unfold from the broadcast booth. Woods withdrew from the tournament on Monday as he coped with the death of his mother, Kultida, last week. Players wore a red button that had the Thai symbol of love to honor her.

Aberg two-putted from 50 feet for birdie on the 13th, attacked a daunting back pin on the 14th to 5 feet for birdie and rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 15th to tie for the lead. From the middle of the fairway on the par-5 18th, he hit 7-wood long, some 70 feet away, rolled that down to just under 7 feet and calmly holed the putt.

“It’s more than I could have asked for at the start of the day,” said McNealy, who started five shots behind. “Ludvig played awesome. I knew with that leaderboard it was going to take some great golf to get it done.”

Aberg, who finished at 12-under 276, won $4 million for his third victory worldwide since turning pro in June 2023 as the top-ranked college player out of Texas Tech. He moves to No. 4 in the world.

Scottie Scheffler was 10 shots better than the third round with a 66 and tied for third with Patrick Rodgers (71).

Scheffler fell five shots behind with a 76 on Saturday, his highest score in nearly three years. That didn’t stop him from making a brief run. He went out in 31 with five birdies, including a chip-in on the fifth hole, and got to within one shot.

But he couldn’t afford many mistakes, and he made two of them. He left a delicate, downhill chip in the rough on the par-3 11th and made bogey, and after holing a bunker shot for birdie on the 15th to stay in the game, failed to save par from a bunker on the 16th.

He closed with a 66 and finished alone in third.

Scheffler played with Rory McIlroy and put five shots between them on the front nine. McIlroy couldn’t buy a putt and could only laugh at one point during the round. He finished with a bogey from the water on the 18th for a 72.

Rodgers and Denny McCarthy, playing in the final group, also took their turns in the lead during the final round until the tough back nine on the South course caught up with them.

Rodgers fell back with bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes and never caught up. McCarthy had the lead when he made eagle on the par-5 sixth and didn’t make another birdie until the final hole for a 71 to tie for fifth.