LONDON: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says it is too early to rule Manchester United out of the Premier League title race as he prepares his in-form team to face Ruben Amorim’s resurgent side on Wednesday.
United are 15 points behind leaders Liverpool and four points off the Champions League spots after 13 matches.
Arteta was asked at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday whether United could be in the title mix despite their poor start to the season under the sacked Erik ten Hag.
“It’s still very early in the season,” said the Spaniard, whose team are second in the table, six points clear of United.
“Any team that has the capacity to put five or six wins in a row is going to be up there because it’s so tough and you see every week how all the teams are struggling to maintain winning, winning and winning. So I think anything is possible.”
And Arteta said champions Manchester City were still a danger despite their recent slump — Pep Guardiola’s men have lost their past four league matches to fall 11 points behind Liverpool.
“Again, if there is a team with the capacity to turn it around and start to win, win, win and win — don’t rule them out because you know how much quality they have,” he said.
Arsenal have a good recent home record against United, who have won two and drawn one of their first three games in all competitions under Amorim.
Arteta said he could already see the influence of the former Sporting Lisbon boss, just weeks after he replaced Ten Hag.
“You can see his fingerprints in what he wants to do straight away,” he said. “I think he’s been very clear, he’s been very successful with Sporting.
“He brings energy to a new club and to the players new ideas and that’s always something positive but we have to focus on what we have to do.”
Arsenal have also been drawn against holders United in the third round of the FA Cup, which takes place early next month.
“We play at home, it’s going to be a big match again and it’s a little bit of the story of the last few seasons that in the third or fourth round we are playing big opponents,” he said.
“But we want to do what we have done historically at this club and in the end, you have to beat the big teams to win it. It is what it is. We are excited.”
Man Utd not yet out of Premier League title race, says Arteta
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Man Utd not yet out of Premier League title race, says Arteta
- “It’s still very early in the season,” said the Spaniard
- Arteta said champions Manchester City were still a danger despite their recent slump
Joe Highsmith goes from making the cut to a PGA Tour winner at the Cognizant Classic
- Highsmith rallied from a four-shot deficit Sunday with three straight birdies around the turn and a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th that all but clinched it
- Highsmith, a 24-year-old lefty with a bucket hat and a broad smile, became the first player to make the cut on the number and win since Brandt Snedeker at Torrey Pines in 2016
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida: Two days after Joe Highsmith made a nervy par putt to make the cut, he won the Cognizant Classic with the lowest weekend ever at PGA National and is going to the Masters.
Highsmith rallied from a four-shot deficit Sunday with three straight birdies around the turn and a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th that all but clinched it, giving him another 6-under 64 to win his first PGA Tour title by two shots.
“Winning was the last thing on my mind,” Highsmith said. “It’s incredible to come out on top. I played probably the best round of my life.”
Highsmith had a little help from Jake Knapp, who opened the tournament with a 59 and held it together until one shot into the water and two more to get out.
Knapp, trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner in tournament history, had a one-shot lead when his wedge to the 11th came up short and into the water, with only half of the golf ball submerged. He tried to blast out and it trickled down the slope and back to the water. He tried again, this time the ball holding up in the rough.
“Didn’t hit any of them really hard enough, unfortunately,” Knapp said.
He wound up with a triple bogey and never caught up. Knapp didn’t make another birdie the rest of the way, closed with a 72 and tied for sixth along with Michael Kim (71), who played with him in the final group.
Jacob Bridgeman closed with a 64 and J.J. Spaun had a 66 to share second place.
“I was trying to make as many birdies as I could,” Bridgeman said. “I knew I had to do something kind of extraordinary today to catch the leaders, and I caught them, but they’re only on the ninth hole.”
His runner-up finish was enough to get him into the Arnold Palmer Invitational next week.
Highsmith, a 24-year-old lefty with a bucket hat and a broad smile, became the first player to make the cut on the number and win since Brandt Snedeker at Torrey Pines in 2016.
With so many players in the mix going into the final round, it was set up to be a wild finish, and five players had at least a share of the lead at one point.
Highsmith eliminated the drama in the final hour with a flawless round and an unforgettable weekend he played in 14-under 128. His big run started with a wedge to 3 feet on No. 9. He two-putted for birdie on the par-5 10th and rolled in an 18-foot birdie on No. 11.
He added a 15-foot birdie putt at the 13th to take control, and then sealed it with his birdie putt down the slope on the 17th.
Highsmith was all smiles coming off the 18th green with his caddie Joe LaCava IV, the son of the caddie who was on the bag for Masters champions Fred Couples in 1992 and Tiger Woods in 2019, and who now works for Patrick Cantlay.
Highsmith is the second first-time winner in as many weeks, following Brian Campbell winning the Mexico Open. He finished at 19-under 265 and picked up plenty of perks. Along with earning a place in the Masters and PGA Championship, Highsmith is in the remaining five signature events, starting next week at Bay Hill.
Jordan Spieth had four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn to get on the fringe of contention, only to play the final six holes in 1 over for a 68 to tie for ninth, his second top 10 in four starts since returning from wrist surgery last August.
Florida State junior Luke Clanton, who secured a PGA Tour card through the PGA Tour University program by making the cut, shot 69 and tied for 18th.
Highsmith shot the lowest 72-hole score since the tournament moved to PGA National, which has held two PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup, in 2007. The course was overseeded, making the rough less daunting and the fairways softer.
“I get that the overseed was there and the wind was down, but it’s still a stressful golf course, and this was some of the best golf I’ve seen played relative to what I would have thought would have happened on a golf course in quite a while,” Spieth said. “It’s crazy good golf out there.”
Milan crisis deepens after 3rd straight Serie A loss, this time to Lazio
- Milan dropped to ninth in the standings and were leapfrogged by Roma after Claudio Ranieri’s team fought back to beat 10-man Como 2-1
- Sixth-placed Bologna rallied to beat relegation-threatened Cagliari 2-1
MILAN: AC Milan fell further into crisis on Sunday as a stoppage-time penalty condemned them to a 2-1 defeat at home to Lazio in the Italian league.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Milan managed to level in the 84th minute but Pedro converted a penalty in the eighth minute of stoppages.
This was Milan’s third straight Serie A loss amid a disastrous run that also saw the Rossoneri crash out of the Champions League.
Milan dropped to ninth in the standings and were leapfrogged by Roma after Claudio Ranieri’s team fought back to beat 10-man Como 2-1.
Lazio climbed back into fourth place — a point above Juventus, which hosts Hellas Verona on Monday.
Sixth-placed Bologna rallied to beat relegation-threatened Cagliari 2-1.
Late (and even later) drama
Lazio were also looking to get back to winning ways following two Serie A draws and being knocked out of the Italian Cup midweek by Inter Milan, also at San Siro.
Mattia Zaccagni gave Lazio the lead in the 28th minute. His initial attempt was saved by Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan but Zaccagni tapped in the rebound.
Milan’s chances of getting something from the match diminished in the 67th when defender Strahinja Pavlovic was shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle on Lazio midfielder Matteo Guendouzi
Milan neverthless managed to find an equalizer when Rafael Leao whipped in a cross from the left for an unmarked Samuel Chukwueze to head in at the far post.
But there was even later drama when Lazio was awarded a penalty on video review after Maignan brought down visiting forward Gustav Isaksen. Pedro struck the spot kick into the bottom right corner.
Bologna boosts top 4 hopes
Riccardo Orsolini scored twice to help Bologna boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League again.
Cagliari surprisingly reached the break ahead in Bologna after Roberto Piccoli’s 22nd-minute header.
But Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano made three changes at halftime and his team leveled almost immediately as Orsolini converted a penalty after Cagliari midfielder Mattia Felici fouled Nicolò Cambiaghi — one of those substitutes.
Cambiaghi also rolled the ball across for Orsolini to tap in and complete the turnaround eight minutes later.
Cagliari are three points above the relegation zone.
Impact subs
Substitute Alexis Saelemaekers took just 120 seconds to help Roma turn their match round.
Roma were trailing at home to Como following Lucas Da Cunha’s goal on the stroke of halftime.
But the match changed in the 61st minute. Saelemaekers, who had only just come off the bench, played a one-two with Zeki Çelik and then a stroke of luck saw his effort deflected by Como defender Edoardo Goldaniga, going in off the underside of the crossbar.
It quickly got worse for Como as they almost immediately went down to 10 men when defender Marc-Oliver Kempf was sent off following a second yellow card.
Halftime substitute Artem Dovbyk scored the winner in the 76th, volleying in a cross from Devyne Rensch — who had been on the field for less than two minutes.
It was Roma’s 11th league match unbeaten since a loss at Como on Dec. 15 and sent Ranieri’s team up to eighth, six points below Juventus.
Empoli, who surprisingly knocked defending champions Juventus out of the Italian Cup midweek, drew 1-1 at Genoa to remain in the bottom three, one point from safety.
Torino won 2-0 at bottom club Monza.
Al-Ittihad denied crucial win by late Al-Okhdood strike
- Okhdood are just two points off safety at the bottom of the table following draw
JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Okhdood on Sunday and while the leaders moved six points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League, it was a frustrating evening in Jeddah.
Deep into injury time and just seconds away from the final whistle, the Tigers were leading and ready to go eight points above Al-Hilal but a late, late equaliser means that there is plenty of life left in the title race yet. It also means that Okhdood are just two points off safety at the bottom of the table.
At half-time, Al-Ittihad were looking good to take full advantage of Al-Hilal’s loss against Al-Ahli on Friday. Karim Benzema and Moussa Diaby have been in fine attacking form this season and came close to breaking the deadlock in the opening half-hour.
It came, however, six minutes before the break, Houssem Aouar grabbed his tenth goal of the season to put the Jeddah giants ahead. It was a special strike. The Algerian received a pass from Hassan Kadesh on the left corner of the penalty box, spun to lose his marker, and then danced into the area to fire a low shot into the opposite corner.
In the second half, it seemed to be only a matter of time before Laurent Blanc’s men extended their lead and sealed a crucial win. Soon after the restart, Benzema hit the post as the French forward looked for his 17th league goal of the season. More chances came, for the former Real Madrid star as well as his team-mates but none were converted. It all meant that Al-Ittihad were left to regret their wastefulness in the 97th minute.
The league leaders failed to clear a corner from the left and the ball fell to Christian Bassogog at the edge of the area and the Cameroonian left fly with a fierce shot that flew into the top corner. T
he home crowd were stunned into silence while, in Riyadh, there was suddenly a little hope with 11 games left to play.
Barcelona routs 10-man Real Sociedad 4-0 to go top in Spain
- “Very happy with the match we played,” Araujo said. “It was important to win and become leaders again. It was a great effort by the team”
MADRID: Barcelona cruised to a 4-0 rout over 10-man Real Sociedad to regain the lead in Spain on Sunday.
Gerard Martín, Marc Casadó, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski scored a goal each to put Barcelona one point ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid at the top of the Spanish league. Barcelona is three points ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Real Betis on Saturday, when Atletico beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 at home.
“Very happy with the match we played,” Araujo said. “It was important to win and become leaders again. It was a great effort by the team.”
Sociedad played a man down from the 17th minute after Aritz Elustondo was sent off with a straight red card for grabbing Barcelona forward Dani Olmo to stop a breakaway.
“It was a clear red card,” Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil said. “After that there was no game. It’s already hard 11 against 11 against them, you can imagine with a man down.”
It was the sixth win in a row for Barcelona in the league, and the second loss in three matches for Sociedad, which stayed in ninth place.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick rested some regular starters ahead of the team’s Champions League match at Benfica on Wednesday in the first leg of the round of 16.
Prolific Lewandowski
Barcelona was in control from the start at Montjuic stadium, with Martín scoring in the 25th and Casadó in the 29th. Araujo added to the lead in the 56th and Lewandowski closed the scoring in the 60th for his eighth goal in his last nine matches.
Lewandowski now has 34 goals this season in all competitions, one more than the 33 he scored in what had been his previous best season with the Catalan club in 2022-23.
Sociedad, which along with Barcelona, Madrid and Atletico is playing in the Copa del Rey semifinals, struggled from the start and had no attempts on goal. Barcelona had 33 total attempts.
Sociedad defender Hamari Traoré entered the match in the second half to mark his return to action nearly six months after having to undergo knee surgery.
Earlier Sunday, striker Diego García scored two minutes into second-half stoppage time to give 16th-placed Leganes a 1-0 win over 14th-placed Getafe in a match between teams from the Madrid area.
Valencia later Sunday has a chance to move out of the relegation zone with a win at Osasuna.
Welbeck sinks Newcastle as Brighton reach FA Cup quarters
- The Seagulls have never lifted the Challenge Cup and last reached the final in 1983
NEWCASTLE: Danny Welbeck sent Brighton into the FA Cup quarterfinals as his extra-time strike clinched a dramatic 2-1 win against Newcastle in a stormy clash scarred by red cards for both teams.
Alexander Isak’s penalty put Newcastle ahead in the fifth-round tie at St. James’ Park.
Former Newcastle winger Yankuba Minteh equalized before the break, setting the stage for an explosive second half.
Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon was sent off for violent conduct in the 83rd minute after shoving Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke in the head.
Brighton were also reduced to 10 men late in the second half when Tariq Lamptey was dismissed for a second booking.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side emerged victorious thanks to Welbeck’s strike in the closing stages of extra time.
Brighton have never lifted the FA Cup and last reached the final in 1983 when they lost in a replay against Manchester United. The Seagulls have won five successive matches since their 7-0 thrashing at Nottingham Forest.
They are through to the quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons after winning at St. James’ Park for the second time this season.
It was a bitter blow for Newcastle, who haven’t won a domestic trophy since landing the 1955 FA Cup, while their last major trophy was the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Unless Newcastle appeal against Gordon’s three-match ban, they will be without one of their key players for the League Cup final against Premier League leaders Liverpool at Wembley on March 16.
Newcastle made a vibrant start as Harvey Barnes lofted a pin-point cross to the far post, where Isak blazed over from close-range after his initial effort was blocked by Adam Webster.
Isak tested Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen with a long-range drive before Newcastle took the lead in the 22nd minute.
Minteh conceded a penalty with his rash challenge on Tino Livramento. Isak confidently lashed the spot kick into the top corner.
It was Isak’s 22nd goal in all competitions this season and the Sweden striker had the ball in the net again with a ferocious blast, only for an offside flag to curtail his celebrations.
Newcastle looked in complete command when Anthony Gordon cut inside for a curler that Verbruggen saved at full stretch.
But Brighton snatched an equalizer against the run of play in the 44th minute.
Joao Pedro’s superb pass picked out Minteh inside the area and the Gambian’s shot took a deflection as it flashed past Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka.
It was a sweet moment for Minteh, who joined Brighton from Newcastle last year in a £30 million ($37 million) deal.
Gordon saw red with seven minutes left in normal time, the England star lashing out at Van Hecke as they challenged for the ball after play was stopped for offside against Isak.
Lamptey followed Gordon down the tunnel in stoppage-time after the Brighton defender’s rash foul on Jacob Murphy.
Fabian Schar thought he had volleyed Newcastle’s winner in stoppage-time, but the defender was ruled offside after a VAR check.
Brighton came on strong in extra time. Dubravka made a fine stop to keep out Diego Gomez’s rocket from the edge of the area.
Newcastle had wilted and Welbeck won it for the Seagulls in the 114th minute, racing onto Solly March’s defense-splitting pass and clipping his shot over Dubravka.
