Liverpool held to tie; EPL title must wait
Visiting Everton held Liverpool to a 00 tie, preventing the host team from clinching its first English Premier League title since 1990.
Liverpool holds a 23point lead on secondplace Manchester City with eight games remaining. But when you’ve been waiting 30 years — and then had the coronation delayed by three months because of a pandemic — patience is expected.
Liverpool’s attacking potency had been neutered with Mohamed Salah not fit enough to come off the bench. The team’s search for a goal saw Joel Matip’s header go wide in the first half and Fabinho’s free kick be tipped over goalkeeper Jordan Pickford late in the game.
“Physically, it was really intense. I’ll take that,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said of his team’s effort in he game, which was played with no fans in the stands. “We didn’t have enough chances. Most of the time we were dominant, but they had the biggest chance.”
That came for Carlo Ancelotti’s side with 10 minutes to go when Dominic CalvertLewin’s shot was saved by Alisson and a followup from Tom Davies hit the post. Alisson was alert again to deny fellow Brazilian Richarlison in the closing minutes.
“The players are rusty,” CalvertLewin said. “It was a strange game. It was bizarre with a game of this magnitude. Usually the place is bouncing and it was hard to get used to at first.”
In other EPL games, American wing Christian Pulisic scored soon after coming off the bench and Olivier Giroud added another goal two minutes later as Chelsea rallied to beat host Aston Villa 21; and host Newcastle beat 10man Sheffield United 30.
In Italy’s Serie A, Atalanta beat Sassuolo 41 in the first game in the coronavirusravaged city of Bergamo since Feb. 15. “This win was for the city, the people, the club. The worst days are behind us, change is coming,” Atalanta midfielder Marten de Roon wrote on Twitter after the match.
Tennis: Grigor Dimitrov, No. 19 in the ATP rankings, has tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to the cancellation of an exhibition event in Croatia where topranked Novak Djokovic was to play in the final.
The ATP and WTA tours have been suspended since March and are planning to resume in August.
Motorcycle racing: British superbike rider Ben Godfrey, 25, died after a collision with another bike during an event in Derby, England. Godfrey raced in the British Superbike Championship.
Obituary: Former USC AllAmerica offensive lineman Max Tuerk, who was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 2016 and played one game for the Arizona Cardinals in 2017, has died. Tuerk’s family said he died Saturday while hiking with his parents on a favorite trail in Cleveland National Forest north of San Diego. He was 26.
“Heartbroken by the loss of Max Tuerk,” USC head coach Clay Helton tweeted. “Incredible person, teammate, and Trojan. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”