MANE AND SALAH FIRE LIVERPOOL TOP OF TABLE

LONDON : Sadio Mane scored a brace of goals and Mohamed Salah continued his return to form as Liverpool moved to the summit of the Premier League with a comfortable 4-1 victory against lowly Cardiff City at Anfield on Saturday.

Salah ended any suggestion he had been suffering a goal drought when he converted from close range after Mane’s shot was parried in the ninth minute for his fourth goal in three matches. Liverpool enjoyed 86 percent possession and had 12 shots in a commanding first half, the only surprise being that Juergen Klopp’s side did not add a second goal before the break. That finally came in the 66th minute, when Mane wriggled through a couple of challenges before unleashing a fierce drive into the corner with his left foot.

QUALIFIER COPIL SHOCKS ZVEREV

BASEL: Marius Copil on Saturday became the first qualifier to reach the final of the Swiss Indoors in more than a decade as the Romanian upset Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4. The world number 93, the first player from qualifying to go this far here since Marcos Baghdatis in 2005, will face the winner from eighttime champion Roger Federer and Russian Daniil Medvedev.

STEPHENS TRIUMPHS, PLISKOVA FALTERS

SINGAPORE: A gutsy Sloane Stephens recovered from early embarrassment to storm past Karolina Pliskova on Saturday, setting up a mouth-watering WTA Finals decider against in-form Elina Svitolina. The former US Open champion triumphed on Saturday against an inconsistent Pliskova 0-6, 6-4, 6-1.

A stunned Stephens lost the opening eight games before turning things around to win 12 of the next 15. The hard-hitting Pliskova started red hot in what loomed as a one-sided contest.