List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

Last August, it was Darwin Nunez who lost his head. A year on, as Liverpool’s captain and vice-captain led by the wrong sort of example and as they threatened to unravel at Newcastle, Nunez served as rescuer. A man down, a goal down, almost two adrift, a first loss in 14 league games beckoned for Liverpool. Enter Nunez, the £64m afterthought, the player sent off on his Anfield debut for headbutting Joachim Andersen. Now the fifth-choice forward, he clinched an improbable comeback; a swift brace turned a damaging setback into a seminal victory. Suddenly, the more costly of two meltdowns was Newcastle’s. They contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They can reflect on two moments to transform the mood at St James’ Park and the feel of their start to the season. The first, when Diogo Jota’s pass bounced off Sven Botman and Nunez drilled a shot past Nick Pope. The second, when Bruno Guimaraes lost the ball, Mohamed Salah provided a slide-rule pass and Nunez again turned executioner. His finishing can be erratic but twice it was unerring: this was what Liverpool paid what could become a club-record fee for. As it is, their record buy had long since departed: Virgil van Dijk, often the cool cat of defending, turned into a raging bull when he saw red. His choice of words to referee John Brooks and fourth official Craig Pawson may add to his sanction. And yet, on the day, it was Newcastle who were punished. The scale of the missed opportunity was huge: they finished the game facing Liverpool’s fourth- and fifth-choice centre-backs, with Jarell Quansah making a debut in the final stages. He was not the most significant substitute – that mantle rested with Nunez – but Liverpool won 2-0 with the rookie on the pitch. Indeed, they triumphed 2-0 in the time after Van Dijk’s dismissal. Newcastle twice almost doubled their lead, Alisson making a superb save to turn Miguel Almiron’s volley against the crossbar and then the Paraguayan striking the upright again after a mesmeric solo run. And yet they lost their impetus in the second half; Liverpool had mislaid their composure before the break and regained it as the game went on, leading to a credibility defying climax. The early excellence of Anthony Gordon became in vain, an Evertonian suffering his latest defeat to Liverpool. For Newcastle, Klopp’s side remain the final frontier: they have had flagship results against virtually everyone else but they have now suffered five home league defeats under Eddie Howe: three of them to Liverpool. This was the most illogical triumph of them all. It had shaped up as a chastening afternoon for the men promoted to replace the departed Jordan Henderson and James Milner. The new skipper Van Dijk was sent off, though only after his deputy, Trent Alexander-Arnold, could have been. Instead, his enduring presence on the pitch benefited Newcastle when his error allowed Gordon to open the scoring. The centre-back had one tackle to rue – or seethe about, given his reaction when he saw red; the right-back had a different kind of torment, failing his trial by Gordon. Alexander-Arnold could have been dismissed after six minutes: unfortunate to be cautioned, he was then fortunate to avoid a second yellow card. A blatant check on Gordon was a bookable offence, but he had already had his name taken. Gordon was a waspish irritant but he is an irregular scorer. Just the ninth goal of his senior career came with an unlikely provider. Salah was to add to his surfeit of assists for Liverpool. He inadvertently provided a goal for Newcastle, overhitting a pass to Alexander-Arnold. The right-back should still have controlled it: instead, it rolled away from him, into the path of Gordon, who slotted a shot past Alisson. Kissing the Newcastle badge may have gone down badly with both halves of Merseyside. He may yet prove popular on Tyneside, however. The agent provocateur proved he can play. This was the best performance of his brief Newcastle career and he supplied the pass to Alexander Isak when the striker was challenged by Van Dijk. The Dutchman argued he got the ball; referee Brooks thought he went through the striker first, rendering it a goalscoring opportunity. Exit – eventually, after his protests – Van Dijk, and Liverpool’s chances seemingly disappeared with him. Yet a second half offered a second chance. Liverpool were reconfigured in a 4-4-1 formation. Klopp’s changes made an impact. Howe may regret his own substitutions, particularly removing Gordon. Freed from his clutches, Alexander-Arnold got a hint of redemption with a pass in the move that led to Nunez’s equaliser. And, after a chaotic game, Nunez, the agent of chaos, may have been a strangely fitting match-winner. Read More Matty Cash brace sees Aston Villa win at Burnley Rodri strikes late on to send Man City top and break Sheffield United hearts Man City assistant Juanma Lillo did not enjoy stepping in for Pep Guardiola Matty Cash brace sees Aston Villa win at Burnley Rodri strikes late on to send Man City top and break Sheffield United hearts Man City assistant Juanma Lillo did not enjoy stepping in for Pep Guardiola

Manchester City and Liverpool left it late to secure victories in the Premier League

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Forgotten man Darwin Nunez came off the bench to fire 10-man Liverpool to a sensational 2-1 win at Newcastle as they staged a late, late show. Trailing to former Everton striker Anthony Gordon’s opener and at a numerical disadvantage following Virgil van Dijk’s dismissal, the Reds refused to accept defeat and got their reward when the £85million Uruguay international levelled with nine minutes remaining and then snatched victory three minutes into stoppage time. The Magpies were left to reflect on missed chances – Alisson produced a stunning first-half save to deny Miguel Almiron, who later hit a post – but Jurgen Klopp’s men scrapped impressively to ensure their unbeaten run against the Tyneside club extended to 14 games. Klopp celebrated wildly in front of the home dugout and on the pitch after the final whistle as the home fans among a crowd of 52,214 trudged away barely able to believe what they had witnessed. The visitors made a lively start amid a raucous atmosphere as former Magpies target Dominik Szoboszlai forced an early corner, and it was they who set the tempo as the game unfolded. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold left himself walking a tightrope after picking up a needless sixth-minute booking for kicking the ball away, and he was perhaps fortunate to escape further punishment after Gordon went down under his challenge seconds later. Newcastle keeper Nick Pope, who was sent off in the corresponding fixture last season, endured a testing start and he came for, but failed to connect meaningfully with two early corners, although as Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Almiron gradually worked their way into the game, the traffic towards his goal became less congested. Joelinton mustered the first attempt on Alisson’s goal, a reward for Guimaraes’ persistence, although the keeper was more than equal to the task, but opposite number Pope was extended much further to repel Luis Diaz’s near-post strike after a mazy 17th-minute run. Pope comfortably claimed Mo Salah’s curled 24th-minute effort after the striker had cut inside full-back Dan Burn, but Liverpool’s game-plan was torn apart seconds later. Alexander-Arnold mis-controlled Salah’s pass, allowing Gordon to steal in and race away before sliding a shot past the advancing Alisson, and worse was to come for the Reds when skipper Van Dijk felled Alexander Isak on the edge of the box three minutes later and was dismissed. Only Alisson’s brilliance prevented Newcastle from doubling their advantage nine minutes before the break when he somehow managed to claw Almiron’s stinging volley onto the underside of his crossbar. With defender Joe Gomez having replaced the sacrificed Diaz before the break, the Reds returned knowing they needed something special to force their way back into the game, but Gordon continued to terrorise Alexander-Arnold, and it was the Magpies who looked more likely to add to their tally. Almiron skied high over after Joelinton had surged into the penalty area before crossing, but with the 10 men largely sitting deep, Newcastle found themselves having to unpick the most steadfast of locks with midfield pair Guimaraes and Tonali the main protagonists. Szoboszlai and substitute Diogo Jota helped to ease Liverpool back into the contest as the home side were forced to defend, and although Gordon blazed a 64th-minute drive just wide of Alisson’s left post, it took a superb intervention by Sven Botman to prevent Salah from making the most of a delicious exchange with Jota. Almiron was unfortunate to see a 76th-minute shot come back off a post with Alisson beaten, and the Reds capitalised on that stroke of good fortune with nine minutes remaining when Nunez seized on Botman’s error to fire past Pope. With Newcastle pushing for a winner, the Uruguay international repeated the dose deep into injury time, running on to Salah’s through-ball to snatch an unlikely victory with a similar finish. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Steve Borthwick confident England will fix defensive issues ahead of World Cup Johnny Sexton regrets ‘mistake’ which saw him miss Ireland’s World Cup warm-ups Novak Djokovic says Carlos Alcaraz pushes him ‘to the limit’ ahead of US Open

The Colorado Rockies released outfielder Jurickson Profar, who hit

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Assistant boss Juanma Lillo admitted he did not enjoy standing in for Pep Guardiola after Manchester City’s hard-fought 2-1 win at Sheffield United. Guardiola watched his side extend their 100 per cent start to go top of the Premier League from Barcelona, where he is recovering from back surgery. City turned in a dominant display at a sold-out Bramall Lane, but went close to letting two points slip when Blades substitute Jayden Bogle fired an 85th-minute equaliser. Bogle cancelled out Erling Haaland’s second-half header – the Norway striker had missed a penalty before the break – only for Rodri to rescue City by smashing home an 88th-minute winner. When asked if he enjoyed taking charge in Guardiola’s absence, Lillo said: “Not at all. I much prefer being with Pep. Especially when it’s a question of health, I don’t enjoy this at all. We miss his presence now more than ever. “I haven’t spoken to him after the match. During the match I spoke to him at some moments, but generally he was speaking to the other members of the technical staff. But he’s been totally present today.” City dominated possession throughout and were rarely troubled by the Blades, who produced a resolute and disciplined defensive display. Haaland steered his 37th-minute penalty on to a post after Blades skipper John Egan had handled, but made amends by heading his side in front in the 63rd minute. “Generally I thought we played really well today,” said Lillo, who confirmed Phil Foden had started on the bench due to an upset stomach. “It was a lot closer to what we wanted. “From the second half I thought we really found our rhythm and we were able to win the ball back a lot quicker. “We were able to find the new spaces created from winning the ball back quicker and we could have scored more before the first goal went in.” Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom feels his side, back in the top flight after a two-year absence, are also improving despite losing their first three matches. Heckingbottom said: “I’m pleased with the performance. You need a perfect performance to beat them because that wasn’t a below-par City. “We got punished for two things we should do better. The sickener for me is the nature of how Rodri has lashed it in. “It just comes after Phil (Foden) has mis-controlled the ball and just drops into his path. “It’s a kick in the teeth after all the good play they had had and they way we had dealt with it. We’ve lost a point, but we’ll focus on the performance I think. “Game on game we’ve got better and we certainly believe we’re going to have enough.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Novak Djokovic says Carlos Alcaraz pushes him ‘to the limit’ ahead of US Open Unai Emery praises ‘versatile’ Matty Cash after brace in Villa win at Burnley England confirm Jonny May as Anthony Watson’s replacement in World Cup squad

Looking to bolster their backfield depth behind star Nick Chubb, the Cleveland Browns acquired running back Pierre Strong Jr. in a trade with New England