Liverpool leads Premier after beating Newcastle
Liverpool overcame the loss of Mohamed Salah to a heavy knock to the head to beat Newcastle 3-2 thanks to a late goal by Divock Origi and return to the top of the English Premier League on Saturday.
Origi’s header at an 86thminute free kick glanced off the head of Newcastle defender Jamaal Lascelles and into the net as Liverpool earned an eighth consecutive league win, which put the team two points clear of Manchester City. City, which plays Leicester on Monday in its game in hand, will retain the title by winning its last two matches.
Salah appeared to be in tears when he was carried off the field on a stretcher in the 73rd minute after smashing his head against the ground following a collision with Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. He might not be available for the second leg of Liverpool’s Champions League semifinal against Barcelona on Tuesday.
Salah, with his leagueleading 22nd goal, put Liverpool in the lead for the second time in a thrilling game at St. James’ Park off a right-wing cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was the center of attention in the first half.
Elsewhere: Manchester City completed a domestic women’s double by asserting its supremacy over first-time finalist West Ham in the second half to seal a 3-0 FA Cup final victory at Wembley Stadium. After City was frustrated in the first half, Keira Walsh’s shot took a slight deflection and swerved before going through goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse’s hands in the 52nd minute. Moorhouse’s saves prevented City extending its lead before she was beaten again in the 81st when Georgina Stanway weaved through the defense before netting low. Moorhouse raced off her line to block but was lobbed by substitute Lauren Hemp in the 88th minute of the 49th Women’s FA Cup final. … Bayern Munich won and moved to the verge of a record-extending seventh straight Bundesliga title, while rival Borussia Dortmund blew a two-goal lead and drew at Werder Bremen 2-2. Robert Lewandowski, Leon Goretzka and Franck Ribery scored for Bayern to beat last-placed Hannover 3-1 at home and move four points clear of Dortmund with two rounds to play. … Edinson Cavani missed a late penalty given after a video review as French champion Paris SaintGermain’s stuttering form continued in a 1-1 draw with Nice. … Atletico Madrid lost to Espanyol 3-0 in the Spanish league, missing a chance to secure second place. A draw would have been enough for Atletico but it conceded at the end of the first half and twice after halftime in the away loss to Espanyol.
ETC.
Tennis: Swiss qualifier Jil Teichmann rallied in the decisive set to defeat Karolina Muchova 7-6 (7-5),
3-6, 6-4 in the Prague
Open final for her first WTA title. Teichmann, 21, was 2-0 down, and broken again by her 22-year-old Czech opponent for 3-2, but came back once more before converting her first match point. It was the first WTA final featuring two first-time finalists since
July last year. … Cristian Garin of Chile extended his remarkable run at the Munich Open by reaching the final after beating third-seeded Marco Cecchinato 6-2, 6-4. Ranked No. 47, he claimed the biggest win of his career in defeating No. 3 Alexander Zverev — the two-time defending champion — the day before. Garin will face Matteo Berrettini or the fourth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut in Sunday’s final. The second semifinal was put back to Sunday morning because of rain.
Track and field: IOC President Thomas Bach said he has “a lot of sympathy” for Caster Semenya after the South African runner lost her Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal in a landmark case against track and field’s governing body. Based on Wednesday’s CAS decision, Semenya, who won the 800 meters at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, would have to artificially reduce her levels of testosterone to defend her titles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. After winning an 800meter race at the Doha Diamond League on Friday, her reply to a question of whether she will now submit to new IAAF regulations and take hormone-reducing medication was: “Hell no.”