Sports

Klopp sweats on Oxlade-Chamberlain injury after Liverpool down Crystal Palace

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.”

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

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.

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

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

Lamine Yamal and Raphinha lead Barça to a 4-1 aggregate victory over Benfica

Young talent Lamine Yamal and Brazilian forward Raphinha secured Barcelona’s spot in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 3-1 victory over Benfica (4-1 on aggregate) on Tuesday at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc.

Raphinha (11’) opened the scoring for Barça after a brilliant assist from Yamal. However, Benfica’s Nicolás Otamendi (13’) quickly leveled the match with a header from a corner kick. Yamal restored the lead (27’) with a stunning goal, and Raphinha sealed the victory (42’) just before halftime.

Determined to avoid any surprises, Barcelona started aggressively, with early attempts from Yamal and Lewandowskisignaling their intent to dominate. All goals came in the first half, securing a convincing win and a place in the next round.

Sports

Manchester United knocked out of FA Cup after penalty shootout loss to Fulham

Another disappointment for Manchester United: the defending FA Cup champions were eliminated in this edition’s round of 16, losing in a penalty shootout (4-3 after a 1-1 draw) to Fulham on Sunday at Old Trafford.

Swede Victor Lindelof and Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee were the ‘Red Devils’ who missed their shots against goalkeeper Bernd Leno, sending the ‘Cottagers’ to the penultimate round of the oldest football competition.

The elimination is a heavy blow for a United team that is currently struggling in the Premier League, where they sit in a lowly 14th place.

Now, the Europa League, where they will face Real Sociedad in the first leg of the round of 16 next week, appears to be their only chance to lift a trophy this season. Last year, the FA Cup, in which United triumphed in the final against their neighbors Manchester City, was the competition that saved their campaign. The previous season, they had reached the final, finishing as runners-up.

Sports

The prince is back: Neymar’s homecoming to Santos draws thousands of fans

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.