MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Liverpool took a giant stride toward the Premier League title on Sunday as a 2-0 win over Manchester City opened up an 11-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the table.
Mohamed Salah was again Liverpool’s star performer as he opened the scoring with his 30th goal of the season before setting up Dominik Szoboszlai to double the lead before half-time.
“It is special. Especially when you are in the title race, it is incredible,” said Salah after Liverpool’s first league win at the Etihad for a decade.
“Me and the big guys in the team, we need another title.”
Just days after exiting the Champions League to Real Madrid, this was another sobering defeat for the dethroned English champions, who are now 20 points adrift of the leaders.
So often during Pep Guardiola’s glorious reign, Liverpool have come up just short in English football’s great rivalry of recent years.
However, their time to match Manchester United’s record of 20 English top-flight titles now appears just months away in Arne Slot’s first season in charge.
“We work every single day to achieve this and it is three months of very hard work (ahead) to maintain this,” said Slot.
“It is important to understand why we are where we are.”
Arsenal’s shock 1-0 home defeat to West Ham on Saturday had eased the pressure on Liverpool, that had built after dropping points in two of their last three games at Everton and Aston Villa.
A trip to the Etihad has for so long been the stiffest test of all, but City’s defensive frailties were easily exposed and they also badly missed the presence of the injured Erling Haaland in attack.
Liverpool, by contrast, had their talisman fit and firing as Salah took his staggering tally this season to 25 goals and 16 assists in 27 Premier League appearances.
The Egyptian fired the visitors in front on 14 minutes thanks to a brilliantly executed set-piece routine.
Alexis Mac Allister’s corner was flicked by Szoboszlai into Salah’s path and his shot deflected off Nathan Ake past the despairing dive of Ederson.
At the other end, City’s own Egyptian international showed his ability to finish, but Omar Marmoush had strayed offside before being played in by Phil Foden.
City winger Jeremy Doku was skipping past Trent Alexander-Arnold at will, yet the Belgian consistently failed to deliver a telling cross or shot.
Salah was not so forgiving as he raced onto a long ball over the top and teed up Szoboszlai to wrong-foot Ederson.
The final outcome could have been much more humiliating for City had Liverpool had been as accurate on the counter-attack after the break.
Curtis Jones had a third goal ruled out by a VAR review for offside after Szoboszlai just failed to time his run through the heart of the City defense.
Ederson was forced into a stunning save from Luis Diaz and only a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Abdukodir Khusanov denied Szoboszlai a second.
Marmoush scored a hat-trick in last weekend’s 4-0 win over Newcastle and remained a lively threat as he flashed another effort across the front of Alisson Becker’s goal.
But City lacked the end product to make nearly 70 percent possession count.
Despite an eighth league defeat of the season, Guardiola’s men remain in fourth and will be confident of securing their place in the Champions League next season with a top-five finish likely to be enough.
However, after an unprecedented run of four consecutive titles, City look like yesterday’s team with Liverpool now champions in waiting.
Salah-inspired Liverpool beat Man City to open up 11-point Premier League lead
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Salah-inspired Liverpool beat Man City to open up 11-point Premier League lead
- Just days after exiting the Champions League to Real Madrid, this was another sobering defeat for the dethroned English champions, who are now 20 points adrift of the leaders
Filipina fairytale continues as Eala sets up quarterfinal date with Gauff
- Cheered on by thousands of noisy Pinoy fans, Dubai debutant Eala beats Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea in straight sets to reach Friday’s last 8
- 2-time Grand Slam winner Gauff progresses despite hitting 16 double-faults and needing to save 3 match points against Belgian Elize Mertens
DUBAI: The Filipina fairytale continues after Alexandra Eala, 20, defeated Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday night to book a last-eight date with world No. 4 Coco Gauff at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“I take it all in with a spoonful of gratitude,” Eala said, after being cheered on like the hero she is quickly becoming among her compatriots.
The world No. 47 — the highest-ranked Filipina in WTA Tour history — showed a quiet confidence to slowly grind down her veteran opponent and reach the quarterfinals of a 1000 tournament for the second time.
Cirstea is 15 places higher in the world rankings and reached the semifinals here two years ago but such was the energy inside a thronged stadium, the Romanian never looked likely to quieten the Kabayan crowd.
That is not to suggest the passionate fans got their new hero over the line. Eala has after all been preparing for moments like these since she was 4 years old and being coached by her grandad in Manila.
“Obviously their support means a lot to me,” she said.
“It definitely motivated me in the tight moments and makes the emotions more intense when I win, but I wouldn’t attribute all of it to them. Whether they’re there or not, I’m going to fight until the end and do what I can to win.
“I’ve not always been a competitor who’s been put in night sessions on center court. I’ve been playing tennis for many years and I’m also used to playing in front of no crowds.
“I’m still in the earlier phase of my career, so I’m doing my best to enjoy and I hope the feeling is reciprocated by the crowd. It just creates an amazing atmosphere.”
With the first set going with serve through 10 games, Eala finally grabbed the break she needed to win it. In the second set, such was Eala’s early dominance and the noise it generated among the partisan crowd that it almost felt cruel on Cirstea.
Every winner from Eala, every unforced error from the Romanian, and every break in play, was filled with ear-splitting cheers, catchy chants, and the waving of flags, posters, and hand-made signs, including one that read “Alex, please marry my son.”
Cirstea had complained only a few weeks ago at the Australian Open when she deemed Naomi Osaka to have been excessively vocal while pumping herself up between points.
How she must have felt then during this 98-minute match as the crowd screamed like Beatlemania reborn and the only thing that could quieten it — her A-game — never quite got going. The umpire had his work cut out, repeatedly reminding the fans that silence was required during play.
When Eala closed out the win, smiling widely before eventually letting out a guttural roar in the middle of the court, she turned her focus to Thursday. “Win or lose, it’s a great opportunity for me to learn.
“Obviously facing a player like Coco is something that people would kill to do, and in a quarterfinal here in Dubai as well, so I’m super excited.”
Earlier in the evening on the same court, Gauff hit 16 double-faults and had to save three second-set match points as she fought back against Elise Mertens to confirm her place.
The American, ranked No. 4 in the world, progressed 2-6, 7-6(9), 6-3, but it was painful viewing, even for her. “I’m trying to be positive,” she said.
“I’m critical. I feel like ... I don’t know. It’s weird. I feel like the last tournament I took some steps forward, and today I took some steps backwards, but still got the win.
“It’s a weird feeling. I feel conflicted. It wasn’t the prettiest, but I’m also happy. I could have easily lost.”
Despite Mertens beating a top 10 player only once in the past 12 attempts on hard courts, Gauff started erratically, losing two of her first three service games and looking well-beaten as she slumped to a first-set loss within 33 minutes.
The stats card made for even more unpleasant reading. Three double-faults and 14 unforced errors off her forehand epitomized a first-set performance far from the standard expected of a world No. 4.
But then came a glimmer of hope as she broke back. In doing so, she regained a little control and it was then the turn of Mertens, 21, to fire off a series of unforced errors.
She found herself 5-3 up and serving to tie the set, but once more faltered, double-faulting and failing to hold to allow her opponent a route back into the set and push it toward a tie-break.
What followed was a showcase of ugly tennis and erratic, wild serving. Gauff saved three match points before getting lucky when she clipped the cord with a backhand. Apologizing with a raised hand, she took the lead and closed out the tiebreak 11-9 to force a deciding set.
“I feel like it’s almost easier to play when you’re down than when you have the match in your hands,” Gauff said. “I just wanted to give myself the chance today.
“I feel like my last two matches, in Doha and the Australian Open, I didn’t feel like I fought enough for the second sets. This match, when I lost the first set, I really wanted to fight for that second and give myself the opportunity to compete in the third.”
With the third set confirmed, she grabbed the opportunity, securing the vital break at 4-3. “I don’t even remember the last time I saved match points, probably when I was 15, so I’m really happy to get through today, it was a long one,” she said,
Addressing the majority-Pinoy crowd with a giggle, she said: “I know you guys are probably here for Alex, so I’m sorry I made you wait.”
