Sports
Klopp sweats on Oxlade-Chamberlain injury after Liverpool down Crystal Palace
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AFP
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was ruing an untimely injury suffered by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after his side’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in Singapore on Friday.
Goals by Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah sealed victory in front of a packed National Stadium, but the Reds will be concerned about injuries to key players as they head towards the regular season.
Goalkeeper Alisson and forward Diogo Jota were ruled out of the game, and midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain went off shortly before half-time with a suspected hamstring problem.
“It’s really disappointing for us because he has been training really well for us since we started,” said Klopp.
“We’ve had worse situations but he’s obviously a top-class player who can help us.”
Despite the injury blow, Klopp would have been encouraged by the performance of his side as they bounced back from a 4-0 loss to archrivals Manchester United in Bangkok earlier this week.
Liverpool broke the deadlock after 12 minutes when a long pass from midfield by James Milner found Harvey Elliott, who cut the ball back for Henderson to fire a right-footed effort across goalkeeper Vincente Guaita into the far corner of the net.
The Reds dominated possession and they could have had a second midway through the half when Kostas Tsimikas made a run down the left before crossing to Roberto Firmino, who saw his header deflected wide.
They changed their entire starting line-up at half-time and their new-look eleven took just a minute after the restart to grab a second, as Salah’s effort deflected off Joachim Andersen and left Guaita wrong-footed, squirming past the Palace keeper into the net.
While Guaita was unfortunate with Salah’s strike, he did well to keep his side in the game.
He saved well from Darwin Nunez after a fine run down the byeline by Salah and then kept out a low shot by Fabio Carvalho and a header by Virgil Van Dijk as the Reds maintained the pressure.
Palace’s best opportunity to cut the deficit fell to Jordan Ayew, whose goal-bound effort was charged down by Andy Robertson for a corner.
While Liverpool return to Europe for further warm-up matches in Germany and Austria, Palace will travel on to Australia to meet Manchester United in Melbourne and Leeds United in Perth next week.
Sports
The prince is back: Neymar’s homecoming to Santos draws thousands of fans
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Neymar was greeted by thousands of fans at his childhood club, Santos, on Friday, with a concert at the local stadium and a sign that read, “The Prince is Back.”
The Brazilian star’s private jet landed in São Paulo from Saudi Arabia in the morning, but Neymar requested a few hours of rest before being flown to Santos by helicopter.
The 32-year-old forward is expected to sign a short-term contract with Santos as he aims to regain his standing in Brazil ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Posters saying “The Prince is Back” were being sold for 10 reais (about $1.50) around the 20,000-seat Vila Belmiro Stadium, located on the outskirts of São Paulo.
Sports
AC Milan defeats Juventus to secure Supercoppa Italiana final spot
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AC Milan will take on Inter Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana final on Monday following a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory against Juventus in the second semifinal held in Riyadh on Friday.
Turkish sensation Kenan Yildiz, a late addition to Juventus’ starting lineup, opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a powerful strike that caught French goalkeeper Mike Maignan off guard.
However, AC Milan, under new Portuguese coach Sérgio Conceição—who replaced his compatriot Paulo Fonseca earlier this week—delivered a much-improved second-half performance.
The ‘Rossoneri’ leveled the game in the 71st minute through a penalty converted by American star Christian Pulisic. Just four minutes later, their winning goal came via an own goal by Juventus defender Federico Gatti, who accidentally sent the ball past his goalkeeper, who was caught out of position.
Sports
Real Madrid clinches fourth Intercontinental Cup with 3-0 victory over Pachuca
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Real Madrid crowned themselves champions of their fourth Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, defeating Mexican club Pachuca 3-0 in Doha, thanks to goals from Frenchman Kylian Mbappé and Brazilians Rodrygo and Vinicius.
The ‘Merengues’ thus capped off a spectacular 2024 year, winning five titles. Before this success in Qatar, they had already claimed the Spanish League, the UEFA Champions League, and the Super Cups of Spain and Europe.
Mbappé, who made his return after a minor muscle injury, capitalized on a pass from Brazilian Vinicius in the 37th minute, who dribbled past goalkeeper Carlos Moreno, to finish from close range. It was the first shot on target for Real Madrid.
The team doubled their lead with another brilliant goal from Rodrygo, who feigned a shot to beat his defenders and created enough space to take a strike from the edge of the area, beating Moreno in the 53rd minute.
For a few moments, the goal was under review after Venezuelan referee Jesús Valenzuela was called to check a potential offside by Jude Bellingham.
However, the referee concluded that the Englishman did not interfere with the play and the goal was allowed.
Five minutes later, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had to use his hand to stop a dangerous ball, which Salomón Rondón almost put into the net.
Mbappé, who had scored a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final that was lost to Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the same Lusail stadium, left the pitch in the 62nd minute on the decision of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, who lifted his 15th title with the club—one more than the legendary Miguel Muñoz.
When it seemed like the players of Uruguayan Guillermo Almada had gained some initiative, Oussama Idrissi fouled Lucas Vázquez inside the area, and the penalty was reviewed via VAR.
Vinicius converted the spot-kick in the 84th minute with a low, powerful shot that Moreno touched but could not save.
The newly named FIFA Player of the Year had another chance to score, while Ángel Mena managed to head the ball into the net before the 90-minute mark, but his goal was ruled offside.
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