Erling Haaland reaches 99 goals for City as Liverpool lose at Anfield to Forest

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland celebrates after the match in which City secured a 2-1 win over Brentford in the Premier League. (Reuters)
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Updated 14 September 2024
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Erling Haaland reaches 99 goals for City as Liverpool lose at Anfield to Forest

  • Norwegian’s double maintained City’s 100 percent start to the league

MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for Manchester City after scoring twice in a 2-1 win against Brentford in the English Premier League on Saturday.
The Norwegian’s double maintained City’s 100 percent start to the league after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Liverpool lost for the first time under new manager Arne Slot, to Nottingham Forest by a shock 1-0 at Anfield.
Manchester United won at Southampton 3-0 to end their two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Slot stunned
Slot suffered his first setback in English football after Callum Hudson-Odoi fired Forest to a stunning win at Anfield.
Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool had been the only team other than City to have a 100 percent winning record after the first three rounds, including a memorable 3-0 win against Man United before the international break.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.


Rose fired up for 23rd tilt at winning the Claret Jug

Updated 16 July 2025
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Rose fired up for 23rd tilt at winning the Claret Jug

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland: Justin Rose will make his 23rd bid to win the British Open when he tees off at Royal Portrush on Thursday and he firmly believes he can fulfill his dream of lifting the Claret Jug at the age of 44.
The Englishman has twice been joint runner-up, last year and in 2018, after finishing fourth as a 17-year-old amateur in 1998.
“As a kid, on the putting green since I’ve been playing the game since probably age eight; I’ve been dreaming about winning The Open of course,” Rose told reporters on Wednesday.
“1998 obviously was a fairytale story and ending to my amateur career. I’ve been close a couple of times. As a British player, it’s been the one that I’ve dreamed about winning and holed the putt many times in my mind.”
Twelve months ago at Troon, Rose ended two shots behind American Xander Schauffele.
“If I look back at Troon, I think I played as good a golf as anybody for the whole entire week,” he said.
“I went out and I shot the second lowest score of the day on Sunday, but I got beaten by Xander who played an amazing round of golf.”
Rose, the 2013 US Open champion, endured another near miss in April when he lost the Masters in a playoff against his Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy, seven years after losing the Green Jacket in the same way to Sergio Garcia.
“Obviously, when Rory was there over his three-footer to win and the tap-in, I was definitely, oh, man, I’ve kind of been here before watching the same story, being in a playoff against Sergio, so there was definitely a little bit of deja vu.
“I was able to still be happy for Rory in that moment, and it had been a long time coming for him. It was always going to be a matter of time,” Rose said.
Northern Irishman McIlroy, the world No. 2, will start as one of the favorites to land his second British Open title, roared on by the home fans.
“Rory is obviously a local hero around here, and rightly so. The legend around him in these parts has been growing for a long, long time,” Rose said.
“I feel like the pressure is off him almost from that point of view. This would just be like cherries on top of everything for him.”
Rose acknowledged he was probably too old to improve his game much.
“I would say it’s going to be hard to get a ton better and transform my game to suddenly add new dimensions. But in situations and certain environments, I can still bring my best, and if I do that I still feel very competitive,” he added. 


Lamine Yamal to wear Barcelona’s iconic No. 10 jersey next season

Updated 16 July 2025
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Lamine Yamal to wear Barcelona’s iconic No. 10 jersey next season

  • Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi wore the No. 10 jersey for the Catalan club

BARCELONA: Lamine Yamal will switch to the No. 10 jersey at Barcelona, the same number Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi wore for the Catalan club.
“I’ll try to build my own path, but all kids would like to be like them,” Yamal said Wednesday at the club’s announcement. “All three have been incredible players, they’re legends, and I’ll try to follow in their footsteps.”
Having turned 18, Yamal was able to sign the contract extension that he had agreed with Barcelona in May, keeping him in place until 2031.
“My goal is to keep winning and growing,” Yamal said. “It’s the club of my life. It’s my home, I’ve been here since I was 7 years old.”
Yamal wore the No. 19 jersey last season. The No. 10 most recently was with Ansu Fati, who will play on loan with Monaco.
Yamal, accompanied by his family, received the No. 10 jersey from club president Joan Laporta.
The announcement comes after Yamal was criticized for reportedly hiring people with dwarfism as entertainers during his lavish 18th birthday party last weekend.
Yamal sidestepped the controversy on Wednesday.
“In the end I work for Barça, but when I’m away from the club’s training center, I enjoy my life and that’s it,” Yamal said. “I’m indifferent to both criticism and praise if they don’t come from my family or people close to me.”


‘Unstoppable’ Dubois says he’s ready to cause chaos and beat Usyk

Updated 16 July 2025
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‘Unstoppable’ Dubois says he’s ready to cause chaos and beat Usyk

  • Dubois fights Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight world title at Wembley Stadium on Saturday
  • Dubois, 27, is the IBF champion while Usyk, 38, holds the WBA, WBC and WBO belts

LONDON: Daniel Dubois said he felt unstoppable and ready to cause chaos when he fights unbeaten Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight world title at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Dubois, 27, is the IBF champion while Usyk, 38, holds the WBA, WBC and WBO belts.
The unification fight is a rematch of one that the Londoner lost by a controversial ninth-round knockout in Wroclaw, Poland, in 2023 after Usyk was given time to recover from what the referee ruled was a low blow.
Dubois can become Britain’s first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 while Usyk is bidding to be a four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time after relinquishing the IBF title last year.
“I’ve resurrected myself, resurrected my career and now we’re on a roll,” Dubois told the BBC.
“Unstoppable, I feel like I can’t be beat right now. I’m in the prime of my life and I’m going to go through whatever I have to do. We’re here now, no more excuses.
“I’ve got to beat him this time and I am going to win. I am going to cause chaos, knockouts, by any means necessary... I am ready. Man, I’m 100 percent ready.
“As soon as the bell rings my whole approach is just to seek and destroy, bring chaos and get the victory, seize the moment,” he added.
The two fighters were due to hold open workouts at a venue near the stadium on Wednesday before the final face-to-face press conference on Thursday.
Promoter Frank Warren, who represents Dubois, has said Usyk would find the Briton a very different opponent to the one he beat before.
“Last time they fought Daniel the boy. This time they’re fighting Daniel the man and that’s the difference and he’ll find that out on Saturday,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“He (Usyk) is the best heavyweight of his generation, but everybody’s the best until they get beaten and I think it’s his time now.”


How climate change could force FIFA to rethink the World Cup calendar

Updated 16 July 2025
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How climate change could force FIFA to rethink the World Cup calendar

  • Scientists warn that staging the World Cup in the Northern Hemisphere summer is getting increasingly dangerous for both players and spectators
  • Some suggest that FIFA may have to consider adjusting the soccer calendar to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses

GENEVA: Soccer had a fierce reckoning with heat at the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States — a sweltering preview of what players and fans may face when the US co-hosts the World Cup with Mexico and Canada next summer.

With temperatures rising worldwide, scientists warn that staging the World Cup and other soccer tournaments in the Northern Hemisphere summer is getting increasingly dangerous for both players and spectators. Some suggest that FIFA may have to consider adjusting the soccer calendar to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses.

“The deeper we go in the decade, the greater the risk without considering more dramatic measures, such as playing in the winter months and/or cooler latitudes,” said Prof. Piers Forster, director of the Priestley Center for Climate Futures in Leeds, England. “I’m getting increasingly worried that we are only one heatwave away from a sporting tragedy and I would like to see governing bodies lean into the climate and health science.”

Tournament soccer in June and July is a tradition going back to the first World Cup in 1930.

Since then, the three-month period of June, July and August globally has warmed by 1.05 degrees Celsius (1.89 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Meanwhile, European summer temperatures have increased by 1.81 degrees C. The rate of warming has accelerated since the 1990’s.

Climate scientists say that’s a factor that needs to be considered when playing high-intensity outdoor sports like soccer.

“If you want to play football for 10 hours a day, they’ll have to be the hours of the early morning and late evening,” climatologist Friederike Otto from Imperial College, London, told The Associated Press in an email, “if you don’t want to have players and fans die from heatstroke or get severely ill with heat exhaustion.”

FIFA adapts
Extreme heat and thunderstorms made an impact on FIFA’s newly expanded tournament for club teams. The Club World Cup was held in 11 American cities from June 14 to July 13.

FIFA adapted by tweaking its extreme heat protocol to include extra breaks in play, more field-side water, and cooling the team benches with air fans and more shade.

Still, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández said the heat made him dizzy and urged FIFA to avoid afternoon kickoffs at the World Cup next year.

The global soccer players union, FIFPRO, has warned that six of the 16 World Cup cities next year are at “extremely high risk” for heat stress.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the heat concerns on Saturday, saying the handful of World Cup stadiums that are covered would be used for day-time games next year.

Extreme heat could become an even bigger challenge at the following World Cup in 2030, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Games are scheduled to be played in afternoons and early evenings from mid-June to mid-July. All three countries have already seen temperatures rise above 40 degrees C (well above 100 Fahrenheit) this summer.

FIFA downplayed the heat risk in its in-house evaluation of the 2030 World Cup bid, saying “weather conditions are difficult to predict with the current development in global and local climate, but are unlikely to affect the health of players or other participants.”

Heat exhaustion
The physical effects of playing 90 minutes of soccer in direct sunshine during the hottest part of the day can be severe and potentially result in hyperthermia – abnormally high body temperatures.

“When players experience hyperthermia, they also experience an increase in cardiovascular strain,” said Julien Périard of the University of Canberra.

“If core temperature increases excessively, exertional heat illness can occur,” leading to muscle cramping, heat exhaustion, and even life-threatening heat stroke, he said.

Many sports events held in the summer adjust their start times to early morning or late night to minimize the risk heat-related illness, including marathons at the Olympics or track world championships. Morning kickoffs, however, are rare in soccer, where World Cup match schedules are often set with European TV audiences in mind.

It would be hard for FIFA to avoid day-time World Cup kickoffs given the packed match schedule as the number of participating teams increases from 32 to 48 in 2026.

Calendar rethink
Heat mainly becomes an issue when the World Cup is held in the Northern Hemisphere, because June and July are winter months in the Southern Hemisphere.

FIFA has stuck to its traditional June-July schedule for the men’s World Cup except in 2022 when it moved the tournament to November-December to avoid the summer heat in Qatar. Something similar is expected when neighboring Saudi Arabia hosts the tournament in 2034.

However, moving the World Cup to another part of the year is complicated because it means Europe’s powerful soccer leagues must interrupt their season, affecting both domestic leagues and the Champions League.

FIFA didn’t respond to questions from AP about whether alternate dates for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups were being considered.

When and where to schedule the World Cup and other outdoor sports events is likely to become more pressing as the world continues to warm.

Athletes and even everyday people doing basic physical activities are now exposed to 28 percent more of moderate or higher heat risk in 2023 than they were in the 1990s, said Ollie Jay, a professor at the University of Sydney who has helped shape policy for the Australian Open in tennis.

“This is symbolic of something bigger,” said Michael Mann, a University of Pennsylvania climate scientist. “Not just the danger and inconvenience to fans and players, but the fundamentally disruptive nature of climate change when it comes our current way of life.”


Liverpool eye blockbuster bid for Newcastle’s Isak: reports

Updated 16 July 2025
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Liverpool eye blockbuster bid for Newcastle’s Isak: reports

  • The Premier League champions are yet to make a formal offer for Isak
  • He scored 23 Premier League goals last season to fire the club into the Champions League

LONDON: Liverpool are considering a blockbuster £120 million ($160 million) bid for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak despite the Magpies’ desire to hold onto the Sweden star, according to reports on Wednesday.

The Premier League champions are yet to make a formal offer for Isak but he is believed to be high on their wanted list as boss Arne Slot looks for a new forward in the wake of Diogo Jota’s death.

Isak joined Newcastle from Real Sociedad for £63 million in 2022, emerging as a key player for Eddie Howe’s team.

He scored 23 Premier League goals last season to fire the club into the Champions League for the second time in three years.

Isak also scored in Newcastle’s League Cup final victory over Liverpool at Wembley, which ended the Magpies’ 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy.

The 25-year-old, who is currently at a pre-season training camp in Austria, still has three years remaining on his contract and Newcastle are understood to be trying to tie him to a new deal.

They have reportedly put a value of around £150 million on Isak in an attempt to ward off potential suitors, with Arsenal also reportedly contemplating an offer.

Newcastle’s majority owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have the financial muscle to resist any approach for a player who is said not to be agitating for a move.

Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa have also been linked with moves away from Anfield, which would increase their need to bring in a new striker.

As well as their Isak interest, Liverpool have been linked with Eintracht Frankfurt’s £70 million-rated forward Hugo Ekitike, who has also attracted attention from Newcastle.