ZPC Kariba edge Yadah, Black Rhinos progress
ZPC Kariba breathed some life into their faltering Chibuku Super Cup campaign after grinding out a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Yadah in a Group 1 encounter at the National Sports Stadium yesterday.
Moses Demera scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot just three minutes into the match before his side held for the remainder of the contest to secure a vital win.
The victory ensured ZPC Kariba remain with a mathematical chance of sneaking into the knockout stages after moving up to 11 points, two points behind second-placed Harare City in group one.
City, who have a bye in this weekend having also played a game less than ZPC Kariba are, however, still favorites to seal their quarter-final berth, needing just one point from the last two games.
Yesterday’s result, however, effectively ended Yadah’s hopes of progressing as the Miracle Boys are second from bottom on seven points.
The match got off to an electric start for ZPC Kariba after they were awarded a contentious penalty by the referee Grace Gimo, who adjudged that Bryon Madzokere handled inside the box.
Despite protests from the Yadah players, Demera calmly stepped up to send the Yadah goalkeeper Panashe Nyabunga the wrong way.
Yadah were robbed of what looked like a clear penalty late in the first half when Lennox Mucheto was fouled inside the box only for the match referee to award a freekick outside the box. Television replays, however, showed the incident had happened well inside the penalty area.
Although Yadah dominated possession and created the better chances for the remainder of the contest, ZPC Kariba held on to secure an important win.
Elsewhere, Black Rhinos booked their place in the knockout stage following their 1-1 draw against Manica Diamonds at Baobab Stadium in Ngezi.
They join Cranbourne Bullets as the two teams progressing from Group 3. Bullets, who had already booked their place in the last eight, continued their good run with a 1-0 win over Tenax at Sakubva Stadium.
Black Rhinos 1-1 Manica Diamonds, Ngezi Platinum Stars 1-2 FC Platinum, Tenax 0-1 Cranborne Bullets, Chicken Inn 1-1 Bulawayo Chiefs Triangle United v WhaWha (Mandava, 11pm), Bulawayo City v Highlanders (Barbourfields, 1pm).
LONDON — Manchester United succumbed to a first away league defeat for 30 games by losing 4-2 at Leicester as Liverpool stormed to the top of the Premier League with a 5-0 demolition of Watford on Saturday.
Manchester City moved into second with a 2-0 win over Burnley, while Chelsea can move back to the top of the table when they travel to Brentford later in the day.
But the focus will fall on United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after his side failed to win for the third consecutive Premier League game.
United led at the King Power thanks to Mason Greenwood's spectacular strike, but were quickly pegged back by Youri Tielemans’ dinked finish beyond David de Gea.
A flurry of four goals in the final 12 minutes then condemned Solskjaer’s men to a first defeat on the road since January 2020.
Caglar Soyuncu put Leicester in front before Marcus Rashford equalised on his first appearance of the season after shoulder surgery.
Straight from kick- off, United's leaky defence was breached once more as Jamie Vardy smashed home and Patson Daka’s first Leicester goal in stoppage time sealed a much-needed win for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Roberto Firmino scored his first hat-trick since 2018 as Liverpool ran riot at Vicarage Road in Claudio Ranieri’s first match as Watford boss.
But it was Mohamed Salah who again took most of the plaudits for another stunning solo goal to take his tally for the season to 10 in as many games.
“In this moment it is clear that there is no one better than him,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp of the Egyptian.
Salah helped open the floodgates with a defence-splitting pass that teed up Sadio Mane to score his 100th Premier League goal.
Firmino would have been unavailable due to a late return from international duty but for an injury that forced him to withdraw from the Brazil squad.
He tapped home his first goal from James Milner’s cross before half-time and took advantage of another open goal after Ben Foster parried Craig Cathcart's attempted clearance.
Salah left four Manchester City defenders trailing to score in a thrilling 2-2 draw before the international break and pulled off a similar feat before curling into the far corner.
Firmino then completed the rout in stoppage time.
Watford 0-5 Liverpool; Aston Villa 2-3 Wolves; Leicester 4-2 Manchester United; Manchester City 2-0 Burnley; Norwich v Brighton; Southampton 1-0 Leeds; Brentford 0-1 Chelsea.
Today: Everton v West Ham (3pm); Newcastle v Tottenham (5:30pm)
Tomorrow: Arsenal v Crystal Palace (9pm)