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Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool: Player ratings as Alisson & Van Dijk howlers keep Gunners in title race

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Arsenal kept their Premier League title hopes alive with a huge 3-1 victory over Liverpool at the Emirates on Sunday. Facing the prospect of falling eight points behind with defeat, Arsenal brought one of their best performances of the season as they roared into an early lead courtesy of Bukayo Saka. Gabriel Magalhaes' comical own goal on the stroke of half-time set up an intriguing second half, but the humour reached its peak when Alisson and Virgil van Dijk conspired to hand Gabriel Martinelli a simple go-ahead goal. Ibrahima Konate was shown a second yellow card in the dying embers, before substitute Leandro Trossard fired through Alisson in stoppage time to seal a stunning win. How the game unfolded Arsenal's high press was causing problems for Liverpool in the opening stages but their first real sight of goal came from a counter. Martinelli went fizzing down the left wing and floated a cross in to Saka, whose diving header should have found the back of the net but ended...

Newcastle 2-3 Man City: Player ratings as De Bruyne saves the day from the bench

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Manchester City had Kevin De Bruyne to thank as the Belgian made an immediate impact off the bench to salvage a 3-2 win over Newcastle United on Saturday. City lost goalkeeper Ederson to injury inside the opening minutes but bounced back and took the lead through Bernardo Silva, but Newcastle roared ahead with two goals in quick succession from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon towards the end of the first half. With City struggling in their quest for an equaliser, Pep Guardiola turned to De Bruyne, who needed just five touches of the ball to score, and in the dying embers of the game, it was the Belgian's stunning pass which sent Oscar Bobb through on goal to tap home a late winner. How the game unfolded Newcastle had the ball in the back of the net inside two minutes. Alexander Isak squared for Sean Longstaff to tap home but the offside flag quickly halted celebrations and a VAR check confirmed the Swede had gone too soon. Kyle Walker's attempts to block the shot, which would...

Man City 4-0 Fluminense: Player ratings as Cityzens seal Club World Cup glory

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Manchester City made light work of Fluminense in Friday's Club World Cup final, cruising to a 4-0 victory to secure even more silverware before the end of 2023. Julian Alvarez opened the scoring inside the opening minute before a Phil Foden cross forced an own goal which doubled City's advantage heading into the break. Foden got a goal of his own in the second half but things soon took a turn for Pep Guardiola, who lost Rodri to injury immediately after. Things would end on a positive note, however, as Alvarez added a fourth late on to cap off a sensational performance. How the game unfolded It took just 40 seconds for City to take the lead. Nathan Ake unleashed a ferocious strike from deep which crashed back off the post and into the path of Alvarez, who managed to contort his body and knock the ball into an empty net with his chest. Fluminense thought they had been offered a route back into the Game 17 minutes in when Ederson swatted German Cano to the ground and a penalty w...

Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool (Agg. 6-2): Player ratings as Los Blancos ease into Champions League quarters

Real Madrid finished the job they started at Anfield last month by securing a 1-0 win at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League . Los Blancos were the better side on the night and Karim Benzema’s 19th goal of the season in the closing stages added to the 5-2 aggregate lead they had built from the first leg. Liverpool needed to make a fast start to have any chance of the impossible and had the first clear chance only six minutes in when Mohamed Salah capitalised on a slip from Antonio Rudiger and fed the ball through to Darwin Nunez – his low shot was blocked by Thibaut Courtois’ feet. But a stark reminder of Real’s danger came moments later when, after a slick move, a better square pass from Toni Kroos would have given Benzema a tap-in. Kroos himself also went close in the early stage, smashing a left-footed drive that Liverpool were grateful was straight at Alisson. Los Blancos remained closest to breaking the deadlock when Alisson so...