Newcastle United 0-2 Liverpool: Reds breathe life into top-four hopes as Pope earns costly dismissal
Liverpool breathed life into their top-four hopes with a 2-0 win at fourth-placed Newcastle United, who had Nick Pope sent off to rule him out of the EFL Cup final.
Newcastle had only lost once – to the Reds last April – at St James Park in the league over the past 12 months, but they came unstuck on Saturday thanks to the visitors clinical finishing.
Darwin Nunez s first Premier League goal since November edged Liverpool ahead before Cody Gakpo netted for the second game running, but it was not until Nick Pope s dismissal in the 22nd minute that Newcastle looked doomed.
Even then, Eddie Howe s men coped well with the disadvantage and had chances to reduce the arrears, but the crossbar and Alisson kept them at bay as Liverpool moved to within six points of th…
Anthony Gordon’s second goal of the European Championship secured a 1-0 win over Portugal and booked England Under-21s’ place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2017.
The Newcastle winger, operating as a central forward in Lee Carsley’s team, pounced 10 minutes before half-time to clinically finish a good passing move.
Despite some late Portuguese pressure which saw Henrique Araujo’s effort rebound off the crossbar with goalkeeper James Trafford beaten, England – who have yet to concede a goal at the tournament – held on to set up a meeting with Israel, whom they beat 2-0 in the group phase, on Wednesday.
A reunion with Israel awaits our in the last four!
— England (@England)
The only downside on the night in the Shengel…
Trevor Francis, British football’s first £1million player, has died at the age of 69.
The ex-Birmingham striker, who scored Nottingham Forest’s winner in their 1979 European Cup final triumph, earned 52 England caps and later guided Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham to major finals as a manager.
Plymouth-born Francis burst onto the scene as a teenager with Birmingham, making his first-team debut at 16 in 1970.
We are deeply saddened by the news that Trevor Francis has passed away aged 69.
He won 52 caps and scored 12 goals – including two at the 1982 – for the between 1977 and 1986.
All of our thoughts are with his family, friends and former clubs.
— England (@England)
“He died in Spain this morning from a heart a…
This was not the way Qatar will have wanted their home tournament to go.
With almost 12 years to prepare, the Maroons tried to put themselves in a position to be an inspirational underdog at their World Cup.
That has not proven to be the case, with defeats against Ecuador and Senegal seeing them become the first host nation ever to be eliminated after two games.
Qatar still have one more to go, though, and arguably the most glamorous one as they prepare to take on the Netherlands in their final outing.
Felix Sanchez s men will not just want to claim a morale-boosting big scalp to go out on a high, but will also be keen to avoid defeat as no host nation have ever lost as many as three matches at a World Cup.
The Netherlands topped the group after m…
Juan Mata has named Didier Drogba as the best team-mate he played alongside in the Champions League, while Lionel Messi is the Spaniard s most revered opponent.
Drogba, a legend at Stamford Bridge, scored the winning spot-kick in Chelsea s penalty shoot-out victory over Bayern Munich in the 2012 Champions League final.
It brought up Chelsea s first European crown, one they followed up nine years later by beating Manchester City 1-0 in Porto.
Drogba s coolly taken penalty was his memorable final contribution during his first stint at Chelsea, albeit he returned for a brief second spell in 2014.
Mata, who now plays for Galatasaray, had left for Manchester United by that time, but for him, Drogba will always be the former team-mate synonymous with big Champi…
Cristiano Ronaldo will once again bid for an elusive major honour at international level as the Real Madrid superstar headlines Portugal s squad for Euro 2016.
Renato Sanches is included after the highly rated 18-year-old midfielder completed his move from Benfica to Bayern Munich earlier this month.
Sanches made his international debut in March s 1-0 friendly defeat to Bulgaria and he starred in a title-winning campaign domestically for Benfica, with the Portuguese champions losing only once in the 24 games played by the youngster.
Ricardo Carvalho, Pepe and Jose Fonte give Santos defence an experienced feel, while Sporting Lisbon s William Carvalho and Valencia s Andre Gomes are youthful midfield options alongside Sanches in the absence of injured Zenit captain…
David de Gea is confident his ongoing contract talks with Manchester United will end in a good way .
De Gea has been an ever-present between the sticks for United this season, with Newcastle United s Nick Pope (12) the only goalkeeper to top his tally of eight Premier League clean sheets.
The Spaniard s deal at Old Trafford expires at the end of the campaign, though United have an option to trigger a one-year extension and talks have been held regarding a longer-term renewal.
While offering a positive update on his future, De Gea said he is enjoying his football again after a frustrating few seasons for the Red Devils.
We re still talking. I m just focused on the games, that s the most important thing, but for sure it s going to end in a good way, De Ge…
Great Britain is set to be represented by the England football team at the 2012 Olympics after the other British nations agreed not to block the proposal.
FIFA, world football s world governing body, has set a deadline of the end of the month for all four British nations to come to an agreement over Olympic representation.
The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs all fear their independence in world football will be under threat if they unite with England to play as a British team at the London Games.
But the English FA are determined to field a team on home turf and an agreement now seems to have been reached amid fears that a continuing row would damage the home nations international reputation.
A joint letter has been sent to FIFA saying that Northe…
Samuel Edozie scored his first goal since September to extend Southampton’s unbeaten run to 12 games with a 1-1 draw at Coventry.
The former Manchester City winger had been an unused substitute in the Saints’ last three outings, but came off the bench to cancel out Haji Wright’s opener.
Russell Martin’s men pushed tirelessly for a winner in the closing stages, but the draw keeps Southampton firmly in the play-off positions – 12 points behind second-placed Ipswich.
The Sky Blues were forced to withstand heavy pressure against the possession-hungry Saints in the first half as Adam Armstrong attempted to add to his 12 Sky Bet Championship goals this season.
The forward scored 20 goals for Coventry on loan from Newcastle in the 2015-16 season and fo…
Diego Simeone wants Atletico Madrid to see the reality of their Champions League struggles after their European campaign came to an end on Wednesday.
Atletico s exit from the Champions League at the group stage was confirmed last week with a 2-2 home draw to Bayer Leverkusen.
The Rojiblancos still had the chance to claim a Europa League spot, but missed out on third place in Group B as they were beaten 2-1 by Porto.
Goals from Mehdi Taremi and Stephen Eustaquio put Porto in command, with a late Ivan Marcano own goal nothing more than scant consolation for Atletico.
Their defeat, combined with Bayer Leverkusen s goalless draw with group runners-up Club Brugge, means it is the Bundesliga side who drop into the Europa League.
For Atletico, the focus …