Sports

EPL: Liverpool Open 11-point Lead After 2-0 Win Against Man City

Published

8 months ago

February 23, 2025

Liverpool took a giant stride towards the Premier League title on Sunday as a 2-0 win over Man City opened up an 11-point lead at the top of the table over Arsenal.

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.

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.

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 Man 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 Man City defence.

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 Man 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, Man City look like yesterday’s team with Liverpool now champions in waiting.

Related Topics:#Liverpool #man city Premier league

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Sports

[FULL LIST] U-17 W’ World Cup: Nigeria Face Italy As Knockout Stage Begins

Published

19 hours ago

October 26, 2025

Editor

The knockout phase of the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is set to kick off in Morocco, with Nigeria’s Flamingos drawn against Italy in one of the standout Round of 16 fixtures.

The match is scheduled for Tuesday, October 28, at the Stade Olympique de Rabat, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. Nigeria.

Their qualification follows an emphatic 4–0 victory over Samoa in Rabat on Saturday.

The Flamingos will now aim to build on their impressive group-stage campaign as they continue their push for a historic first world title.

Host nation Morocco will also be in action the same evening, taking on South Korea at the Mohammed VI Football Academy Pitch 2 in Sale, where home fans are expected to create a charged atmosphere in support of the Atlas Lionesses.

Earlier on Tuesday, Brazil will battle China PR, while the United States square off against the Netherlands, both matches slated for 4:30 p.m. in Sale.

The game continues on Wednesday, October 29, with Mexico facing Paraguay at 4:30 p.m., while defending champions Spain meet France in a mouthwatering all-European clash at the same time and venue.

Later that night, Canada will take on Zambia, and Japan, one of the tournament’s top contenders, will lock horns with Colombia to round off the Round of 16 fixtures.

All matches will be staged across venues in Rabat and Sale, with global coverage available via major sports networks and FIFA’s digital platforms.

As the competition enters its decisive stage, only four wins now separate the remaining 16 teams from lifting the prestigious U-17 Women’s World Cup trophy.

Eight winning teams in the round of 16 will move to the quarter-final stage starting Saturday, November 1, 2025.

Full Round of 16 Fixtures
Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Brazil U17 vs China PR U17 – 4:30 PM (Mohammed VI Football Academy Pitch 3, Sale)

United States U17 vs Netherlands U17 – 4:30 PM (Mohammed VI Football Academy, Sale)

Italy U17 vs Nigeria U17 – 8:00 PM (Stade Olympique de Rabat, Rabat)

South Korea U17 vs Morocco U17 – 8:00 PM (Mohammed VI Football Academy Pitch 2, Sale)

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Mexico U17 vs Paraguay U17 – 4:30 PM (Mohammed VI Football Academy Pitch 3, Sale)

Spain U17 vs France U17 – 4:30 PM (Mohammed VI Football Academy, Sale)

Canada U17 vs Zambia U17 – 8:00 PM (Mohammed VI Football Academy, Sale)

Japan U17 vs Colombia U17 – 8:00 PM (Venue TBC)

Sports

SWAN Kicks Off 60th Anniversary/Awards With Religious Services

Published

4 days ago

October 23, 2025

Editor

The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) is set to hold its 60th anniversary with Jumat Prayer and Thanksgiving on Friday October 24, 2025.

A statement by the Media and Publicity Committee of the anniversary said the special prayer and thanksgiving will be held in all the state chapters and FCT at the venues which would be determined by the leadership of the various chapters.

According to the statement, the SWAN Diamond Jubilee and Award Ceremony will also feature the full council which is a meeting of the National Executive Council, zonal vice presidents and secretaries and state chairmen and secretaries.

The committee, while inviting “government functionaries, lovers of sports, members of the association and the general public to join SWAN members at the services to thank God for a successful 60-year journey,” added: “All activities at the event will hold at the National Stadium, Abuja between Oct. 29 and Oct. 31.”

“It will also be an opportunity for us to collectively pray for protection of members, better sports fortuneNigeria’s sports men and women and a more prosperous sports sector,” it said.

Sports

EPL: Trossard Strike As Arsenal Beat Fulham 1-0

Published

1 week ago

October 18, 2025

Editor

Arsenal edged past Fulham with a narrow 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage, climbing three points clear at the top of the Premier League table. The result marked another composed and professional display from Mikel Arteta’s side, who continue to show their title credentials.

The decisive moment came in the second half when Leandro Trossard calmly finished after a clever set-piece routine.

Bukayo Saka delivered a dangerous corner that was flicked on by Gabriel, setting up Trossard to slot home the winner.

Arteta’s side dominated possession throughout, limiting Fulham to very few chances in front of goal.

The hosts struggled to create any real threat, with Arsenal’s defence staying compact and composed.

With the victory, Arsenal overtake Manchester City to sit three points clear at the summit after another disciplined away performance.

More to follow…