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ChiSox win despite Abreu's homer-erasing gaffe

Published in Baseball
Friday, 26 April 2019 22:04

CHICAGO -- In a game that grew more bizarre by the inning, Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox provided the most mad-cap moment of a wild contest by passing teammate Tim Anderson on the bases, erasing a key home run.

The Chicago slugger seemingly gave his club a 12-10 lead with a three-run blast to center field in the bottom of the seventh off Detroit's Reed Garrett. It should have been his second homer of the game and given him six RBIs on the night. Instead, as he jogged around first base, he passed Anderson, who had retreated to the bag to tag up in case Abreu's deep fly was caught at the fence.

"That's the first time I've ever seen it," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "Again, we had a couple of things happen today on the bases. You have to keep your head up and understand the situation. You can't get lost in the emotion. I think he got lost in the emotion a little bit."

Initially, the umpires ruled that Abreu had not passed Anderson, and he rounded the bases. But numerous players and coaches in Detroit's dugout immediately saw what had happened and pointed excitedly toward first base. Manager Ron Gardenhire challenged the call, which was reversed after a replay review, and Abreu was ruled out.

The play was officially scored a rare out-of-the-park, two-run single. Abreu got credit for two RBIs instead of three and was ruled out with first baseman John Hicks getting credit for an unassisted putout. Instead of a two-run advantage, Chicago led 11-10.

After the game, Abreu took full responsibility for the mix-up.

"I just made a mistake," Abreu said via White Sox interpreter Billy Russo. "It was my mistake. When I hit the ball, I just thought it was a regular fly ball to the warning track. I didn't see [Anderson]. It happened. It was my mistake."

Abreu's mistake immediately came back to haunt the White Sox when the Tigers' Ronny Rodriguez led off the eighth with a home run to left, tying the score at 11. Anderson bailed out Abreu in the bottom of the ninth when his two-out solo homer gave the White Sox a 12-11 win.

"It was a crazy game," Abreu said. "All the guys stayed positive and stayed eager about the game. They didn't quit. At the end, we got the win."

While Abreu's unusual miscue will dominate the highlight reels, the play was just the latest twist in a wild contest that featured 23 runs, 36 hits, 11 walks, nine homers and four wild pitches. Add to that list one signature bat flip -- Anderson's firing of his stick after connecting for his game-ending homer off Detroit reliever Joe Jimenez.

"I knew he was going to go first-pitch slider," Anderson said. "I've faced that guy a bunch of times. I kind of knew he was going to go to that pitch and I was ready for it."

The Tigers led 9-2 at one point, but the White Sox ultimately completed their biggest comeback since also coming from seven runs down to beat Detroit on June 13, 2016. Four relievers combined to hold Detroit to three runs over the final six innings after Chicago starter Carlos Rodon was tagged for eight runs over three-plus frames.

"Ultimately, you have to give the credit to all the players," Renteria said. "Because they didn't quit. They kept grinding. That's a big deficit to keep yourself going and motivated and pushing. And they did."

According to the baseball research site retrosheet.org, the last player to lose a home run because he passed a teammate on the bases was Arizona's Deven Marrero, who did it on April 14, 2018, against the Dodgers. The only White Sox player to suffer that fate was Ralph Garr, against the Twins on June 24, 1977.

In both instances, the circumstances were similar to the Abreu mistake -- the homer hitter passed a runner tagging up at first base on a fly ball that ultimately just cleared the wall.

"I've never seen that, that was crazy," Anderson said. "It was different. It kind of shocked me. I didn't expect him to be that far [along the basepath]. But we were able to get the win."

Happy Vladimir Guerrero Jr. day!

The son of the great Hall of Famer made the most anticipated major league debut since -- pick one -- Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg or Alex Rodriguez or Ken Griffey Jr. on Friday in Toronto. After 48 hours of hype to get ready, we finally got to see what the 20-year-old would do on the big stage.

Vladimir Guerrero Sr. set the tone with a heartfelt message to his son:

Let's see how the night unfolded as the Blue Jays hosted the Oakland Athletics.

Jump to each at-bat:
Vlad Jr.'s first at-bat | It's going, going ...
Does this one have the distance? | A hit ... and (spoiler alert) a walk-off blast

First at-bat. Second inning: No outs, nobody on vs. Mike Fiers

The anticipation began much earlier in the day when we saw video of Guerrero arriving to the park wearing his dad's old Expos jersey.

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Guerrero Jr. puts on his father's old Expos jersey

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. puts on his father's old Montreal Expos jersey before heading to Rogers Centre. Video by Marly Rivera

How cool was that? That's just part of what makes Guerrero such a compelling story: born in Montreal, raised in the Dominican Republic, playing America's game in Toronto, the best hitting prospect in the minors often compared to not just his dad, but to Miguel Cabrera and Manny Ramirez and Mike Piazza and other greats.

Before the game, Blue Jays staffers were busy unpacking Guerrero Jr. jerseys -- like his dad, he wears No. 27. The Blue Jays opened the gates earlier than normal to allow fans in to watch Guerrero take batting practice (he hit one bomb off the window above the second deck in left field). The Jays' franchise needs a resuscitation after the playoff runs of 2015 and '16. All that puts a lot of pressure on the young man with the baby face.

He steps in against Fiers and receives the requisite standing ovation. The camera pans to the proud papa up in one of the boxes. The fans chant, "Let's go, Vladdy!" Guerrero Jr. is obviously built differently than dad, shorter and, umm, stockier. His gold-tinted dreadlocks pop out from under his helmet and he wears a shin guard and a protector on his left arm. Everyone is watching:

Fiers' first pitch is a fastball off the plate (the ball is tossed out, apparently for posterity's sake, as was the first pitch of the game). Guerrero takes a vicious cut at another fastball, fouling it off. The 1-1 pitch is just off the plate, but plate ump David Rackley doesn't help by calling it strike two. After a fastball up, Guerrero swings at another fastball and grounds out to first base.

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Vlad Jr. gets standing ovation for first MLB at-bat

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gets a standing ovation from the Toronto crowd in his first MLB at-bat, then grounds out to first.

Second at-bat. Fourth inning: No outs, nobody on vs. Fiers

Some of the prop bets involving Guerrero available at DraftKings on Friday:

--17-1 to homer in his first plate appearance

--40-1 to hit two home runs (umm, only five players have homered twice in their first game)

--Over/under of 2.5 plate appearances for first career hit (over was -124/under was +100)

--Over/under of 12.5 plate appearances for first career home run (both -112)

Leading off the fourth against Fiers, Guerrero takes a slider off the plate then another slider on the corner for a called strike. Fiers throws a fastball in and then a good slider low and away, just off the plate, but Guerrero with an excellent take. That's another big difference with his dad. Senior was a legendary free swinger, albeit with the rare ability to damage pitches off the plate. Junior has much better plate discipline -- he had more walks than strikeouts as a minor leaguer -- a key reason he projects to not only tap into his power potential but perhaps contend for batting titles as well.

The 3-1 pitch is a splitter Guerrero skies to left field. Thanks to shoddy work by the cameraperson, the initial reaction is he hit 500 feet. Instead, A's left fielder Chad Pinder drifts back and makes a leaping grab in front of the wall:

Almost. Almost.

Third at-bat. Sixth inning: Two out, nobody on vs. Fiers

For the third consecutive time, Guerrero comes up with no runners on base. Fiers starts him out with a curveball that he has to spin away from, drawing some boos from the home crowd. The 1-0 pitch is a slider up in the zone on the outside corner and Guerrero lofts a fly ball to right-center -- for a brief moment, hearts beat faster -- but right fielder Stephen Piscotty makes the catch one step in front of the warning track.

With the Blue Jays up 2-0, there's no guarantee Guerrero even gets a fourth plate appearance unless the Jays can get some runners on in the seventh or eighth innings (or the A's rally). In other words, it's not going to be one of the best debuts in major league history. Just for the heck of it, here are five of the best:

1. Karl Spooner, Dodgers (Sept. 22, 1954): The hard-throwing lefty dominated the pennant-winning Giants in his September call-up, throwing a three-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts. The only other pitcher with 15 K's in his first game: J.R. Richard, in 1971 for the Astros. Spooner then threw another shutout, with 12 strikeouts, in his second and final start that year. Unfortunately, he hurt his arm in spring training in 1955 and that was his final season in the majors.

2. Juan Marichal, Giants (July 19, 1960): Marichal threw a one-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts, good for a game score of 96, the best for a debut starter (only five have had a game score of 90 or higher, the most recent Steve Woodard of the Brewers in 1997). The only hit Marichal allowed was a two-out single in the eighth. Marichal would throw one no-hitter, but that 96 would be the best nine-inning game score of his career.

3. J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays (Aug. 7, 2010): Five players have homered twice in their first game. Trevor Story was the most recent, in 2016, but Arencibia went 4-for-5 with two homers and a double in a wild 17-11 victory for Toronto. His 11 total bases are the most for a debut game. (By the way, Arencibia was at Friday's game.)

4. Starlin Castro, Cubs (May 7, 2010): Three months before Arencibia, Castro became the first player with six RBIs in his debut. He hit a three-run homer off Homer Bailey in his first at-bat and then a bases-loaded triple later in the game.

5. Cecil Travis, Senators (May 16, 1933). The only player with five hits in his first game, Travis went 5-for-7 in an 11-10 victory over the Indians. Travis had 1,370 hits and a .327 average through his age-27 season, but then missed three seasons due to World War II and never returned to his prewar form.

So Guerrero's debut won't go down among the best first-game performances, but he clearly impressed his teammates from the start. This is what Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman had to say after the game.

"It's like having Zion Williamson on your team; it's like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent," said Stroman, who went to Duke. "So just to have the opportunity to play with him, it's amazing to look out there and see him behind me at third base. I think he's gonna give us a huge little edge, and just, like I said, just carry this momentum from this win into every other start."

Fourth at-bat. Ninth inning: No outs, nobody on vs. Yusmeiro Petit

After the A's tied the game on Robbie Grossman's two-run home run in the eighth off Joe Biagini (for some reason, Stroman was removed after just 97 pitches and allowing one hit), the stage is set for some drama as Vladdy Jr. leads off the bottom of the ninth. Could it really end with a walk-off home run? It does ... although not from Guerrero. Still, it's Vladdy who sets up the fantastic finish. Petit fires a fastball up and then Guerrero fouls off a fastball. The 1-1 tailing fastball is maybe off the plate, but called a strike, the second borderline pitch to go against the kid. He lays off a curveball in the dirt and then, protecting the plate, takes a 2-2 fastball just off the plate and grounds it past first base and into the right-field corner for a leadoff double and his first career hit. Dad gets some high-fives and Guerrero leaves for pinch runner Alen Hanson and to a standing ovation.

It's not a home run, but the hit shows exactly why Guerrero is so special. He shortens up his swing instead of swinging from his heels and slaps the ball to the opposite field (well, it was still 96 mph). After a sacrifice bunt and lineout, Brandon Drury -- the guy losing his starting gig at third base to Guerrero -- then delivers the big blast:

So everyone goes home happy. Vladdy goes 1-for-4 in his debut, shows a good approach and plate discipline and his ghost runner even scores the winning run. After the game, Guerrero would say that in his first at-bat, "I basically just tried to control my emotions. I just wanted to make contact." He would laugh that his teammates were laughing at him after the fans cheered him at one point for picking up a foul ball.

What would he remember about his first game? "That we won in my debut."

Osaka & Kvitova into Stuttgart Open semi-finals

Published in Tennis
Friday, 26 April 2019 15:11

World number one Naomi Osaka came from behind in the final set to beat Croatian Donna Vekic and reach the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix semi-finals.

Osaka won 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-4) in Stuttgart and will next face Estonian Anett Kontaveit, who progressed after her opponent Victoria Azarenka retired.

Azarenka had been a game away from the last four but let her advantage slip as she struggled with a shoulder issue.

Petra Kvitova will face Kiki Bertens in the other semi-final.

World number three Kvitova overcame a poor start to beat Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova 2-6 6-2 6-3.

Dutch sixth seed Bertens progressed by beating home favourite and reigning Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-4.

Rafael Nadal moved a step closer to setting an ATP record as he eased into the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open with a straight-set victory over Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff.

Nadal, 32, is bidding to become the first player to win the same event 12 times and breezed through this quarter-final match, winning 7-5 7-5.

The former world number one will next face 2017 finalist Dominic Thiem.

"I'm feeling better in my game," said the Spaniard.

"I hope to keep improving here at home," added Nadal, who last week suffered a shock semi-final defeat to Italian Fabio Fognini at the Monte Carlo Masters - an event he has also won 11 times.

Nadal also had a struggle in the early rounds in Barcelona, losing a set at the event for the first time in four years in his win over Leonardo Mayer on Wednesday.

Austrian Thiem also had a comfortable passage into the semi-finals, overcoming Argentine Guido Pella 7-5, 6-2.

Meanwhile, Japan's two-time champion Kei Nishikori beat Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the tournament for the fourth time.

Nishikori will take on Russian Daniil Medvedev on Saturday after the seventh seed defeated lucky loser Nicolas Jarry of Chile 6-3 6-4.

The stakes are high right from the start of play with the mixed doubles final getting underway from 12.00pm local time. Impressive throughout the course of the competition China’s Ma Long and Wang Chuqin will be the hot favourites to lift the trophy but Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu and Spain’s Alvaro Robles have completely defied expectations so far in Budapest and will put up a brave fight.

Then at approximately 1.00pm we’re treated to the second gold medal match of the day as Liu Shiwen and Chen Meng attempt to add their names to the list of women’s singles champions.

In nine previous head-to-head meetings Chen Meng has emerged victorious on seven occasions and hasn’t suffered defeat to her fellow compatriot since 2013! However, Liu Shiwen has experienced the pressures of appearing in a World Championships final before, finishing runner up in 2013 and 2015 – who will be immortalized in World Championships history when these two Giants clash?

After we’ve had a few hours to process all the drama from the opening two fixtures of the day the action resumes with two cracking semi-final encounters.

First up at 5.00pm we’ll see defending champion Ma Long and rising star Liang Jingkun facing off against one another in only their second international meeting: last year at the ITTF World Tour event in Shenzhen it was Ma Long who held the upper hand by a narrow 4-3 margin but who will be celebrating this time around?

The second semi-final is shrouded in an air of unpredictability as Sweden’s Mattias Falck opposes Korea Republic’s An Jaehyun at 6.00pm. A win for either competitor will carry a great deal of significance: victory for Mattias Falck will see him become the first Swedish player to reach the men’s singles final since Jan-Ove Waldner’s title winning campaign in 1999 and the first European since 2003 while success for An Jaehyun would see Korea’s 16 year wait for for a spot in the final come to an end.

Two further matches are also scheduled for Day Seven as the number of partnerships left in the race for women’s doubles glory whittles down from four to two. At 7.00pm Hina Hayata and Mima Ito welcome the defensively-minded pair of Honoka Hashimoto and Hitomi Sato before Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling take on Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu at 8.00pm – Japan and China are assured of success but which players will progress?

Be sure to watch the action unfold live with itTV and follow the live blog throughout the course of the day for all the latest from Budapest.

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The World Number 1s secured the 2019 El Gouna titles

Successive Tournament Wins Cement Farag and El Welily Grips on World Ranking Top Spots
By MATT COLES – PSA World Tour

World No.1s Ali Farag and Raneem El Welily took the honours on an all-Egyptian finals night at the El Gouna International, PSA World Tour Platinum event as they beat Karim Abdel Gawad and Nouran Gohar in their respective finals at the spectacular Abu Tig Marina.

Farag avenged his defeat to the former World Champion in December’s Black Ball Open by winning his maiden El Gouna crown.

Farag (right) prepares to drive the ball down the wall

Farag, who turned 27 this week, finished runner-up to compatriot Marwan ElShorbagy 12 months ago, but he built on a strong start to win 11-9, 12-10, 11-3, picking up his 17th PSA Tour title in the process.

Gawad had his opportunities, leading 9-7 in the first game and 6-2 in the second, but Farag came back both times to take a two-game lead.

An ankle injury suffered by Gawad in the second prevented him from really getting his teeth into the third, and Farag made no mistake to etch his name onto the trophy, his first title on home soil since February 2015.

Farag delighted to have won his first El Gouna title

“I’ve played Karim in so many great finals in Egypt,” Farag said after his win.

“It was really a shame what happened at the end of the second and in the third. I’m sure if he was better physically, it would have been a totally different story. I think he had an amazing week, he’s playing well this season, and it’s great to have him on tour.

“This season has been amazing for me, I couldn’t have asked for a better one. I might have won a lot of big titles, like the World Championships and claiming that No.1 spot at the ToC, but this one is a very special one as I’m sharing it in front of my people.”

El Welily (right) playing a deft drop shot to the front in her final v Gohar

World No.1 Raneem El Welily successfully defended her El Gouna International title after overcoming fellow Egyptian Nouran Gohar to lift her third successive PSA Tour trophy.

El Welily beat World No.2 Nour El Sherbini in last year’s final, and was up against the woman who ended El Sherbini’s run in this tournament at the quarter-final stage. The 30-year-old took the opening game, despite being under immense pressure from her hard-hitting opponent.

Gohar, nine years El Welily’s junior, struck back in the second as El Welily went walkabout mentally and surrendered a 5-2 lead to lose 9 of the next 11 points as Gohar levelled.

The momentum then shifted in El Welily’s favour as she came back to take the third 12-10 on the tie-break, and their battle continued into the fourth game where Gohar, sporting heavy strapping on her left knee, required an injury break after a lunge into the front corner to send El Welily 8-6 up.

The World No.7 returned to court, but it was clear that she was having to protect the knee as she lacked the same explosivity in her movement, and El Welily closed out the win to earn the 22nd PSA Tour title of her career.

El Welily looking proud to have defended her El Gouna title.

“I think that the blood injury break turned me down a little bit, so I’m glad I managed to come back after being 6-2 down [in the third],” El Welily said afterwards.

“It’s definitely hard pushing yourself this way, but when you’re in a final of such a great tournament, you do your best to stay in, and you do your best to win. That’s what I was thinking at that point.

“All thanks to [Tournament Promoter] Amr Mansi and his entire for putting on such a great event. It’s always special here in El Gouna, We always love being here, and I think I speak for the players when I say we really enjoy being here.

“Not just for the organisation, but also for the good weather, the great crowd, and there’s nothing better than playing in front of your home crowd.”

This is the second PSA Tour event in a row in which Farag and El Welily have taken silverware, and both players win $22,800 for their triumphs in El Gouna.

Farag, Gawad and El Welily will next be in action at the British Open in Hull between May 20-26, while Nouran Gohar will be playing in the Manchester Open, which starts on May 9th.

Result – Men’s Final: El Gouna International
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 11-3 (46m)

Result – Women’s Final: El Gouna International
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [8] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6 (61m)

Pictures courtesy of  PSA World Tour

Posted on April 26, 2019

Lipsky, Crocker share 36-hole lead in Trophee Hassan II

Published in Golf
Friday, 26 April 2019 10:38

RABAT, Morocco – David Lipsky and Sean Crocker share a one-shot lead after the second round of the Trophee Hassan II on Friday.

On a day of strong winds that led to some high scoring in Morocco, Crocker recovered from making four bogeys in his first six holes to shoot 1-over 74 and finish on 5 under. That included an eagle on the par-4 17th hole.

Lipsky made five birdies for a 3-under 70 to join his compatriot in the lead.

First-round leader Jordan Smith shot 3-over 76 - 10 strokes worse than his score on Thursday - to drop into a four-way tie for third place.

Julian Suri was in contention after shooting 71 to join Lee Slattery (72), Dimitrios Papadatos (72) and Smith one shot back on 4 under.

RIDGEDALE, Mo. – Tom Pernice Jr. and Scott Hoch teamed to shoot a 9-under 62 on Friday in best-ball play at Ozarks National to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions' Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf.

The teams of Shaun Micheel-Loren Roberts, Ken Tanigawa-Gene Sauers and Roger Chapman-David Frost were a stroke back.

Pernice and Hoch had five straight birdies in the middle of the round.

''I got going early and I just kept filling it up and hitting some good shots,'' Hoch said. ''I told him early, I said, ''Hey, I'll get the front, you get the back,'' and that's kind of what happened.''

The 59-year-old Pernice has five victories on the 50-and-over tour. The 63-year-old Hoch has three senior victories.

''It's just nice to come out here and play well,'' Pernice said. ''It's nice to get off to a good start. I think it's important to get off to a good start in this format and to get this course done and now we can go over and play the same greens on the par 3 two days in a row.''

Micheel-Roberts and Chapman-Frost shot 63 at Ozarks National. Tanigawa-Sauers had an 8-under 46 on the Top of the Rock par-3 course, playing the first nine holes on the nine-hole layout in modified alternate shot and the second nine in best ball.

''It's a lot of fun for me,'' Tanigawa said. ''It's something we don't play, so to have the opportunity to have a partner like Gene, it sure makes it a lot easier.''

The team will rotate courses at Big Cedar Lodge on Saturday, then all play the final round Sunday on the par-3 course.

Defending champions Paul Broadhurst and Kirk Triplett had a 4-under 50 on the par-3 layout.

U.S. defender Jimmy Banks dies of cancer at 54

Published in Soccer
Friday, 26 April 2019 17:03

Jimmy Banks, a defender and winger who made two appearances for the United States at the 1990 World Cup, died Friday. He was 54.

Banks died of pancreatic cancer at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, the U.S. Soccer Federation said.

Banks had 36 international appearances from 1986-91. He did not play in the opening loss to Czechoslovakia at the 1990 World Cup, but was inserted into the lineup following Eric Wynalda's red card in the opener and started in losses to Italy and Austria.

"It's frustrating that we didn't make it to the second round," Banks said after the U.S. was eliminated. "We have the feeling we didn't play as well as we could have."

The U.S. had qualified for soccer's showcase for the first time since 1950, and Banks and Desmond Armstrong were the first two African Americans to make a U.S. World Cup roster.

"At a time when few African American players were reaching the elite level of the sport, Jimmy's rise ... inspired a new generation to reach the same level," U.S. Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro said in a statement. "His time as a player, coach and mentor will leave a lasting impact on the sport in this country, particularly his tireless efforts to grow the game through his inner city soccer programs."

Banks was born in Milwaukee and played college soccer for future national team coach Bob Gansler there.

At a time when the U.S. did not have a major outdoor league, Banks played for the Milwaukee Wave of the American Indoor Soccer Association from 1987-93.

He coached the Milwaukee School of Engineering from 1999-2019, making two NCAA Division III tournament appearances.

Banks is survived by sons Demetrius, J.C. and Jordan.

Mane, Salah doubles see Liverpool back into first

Published in Soccer
Friday, 26 April 2019 17:15

Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League with a 5-0 demolition of relegated Huddersfield Town at Anfield on Friday night that left them on 91 points for the season.

Liverpool came into the match looking to reclaim top spot after Manchester City moved into first following a win over Manchester United on Wednesday, and they were in front seconds after the opening whistle when Naby Keita beat Jonas Lossl from a bad giveaway by the Huddersfield defence.

Keita's goal, which came in the 15th second of the match, set a new record for the fastest ever scored by Liverpool in the Premier League.

The hosts doubled their lead just past the 20-minute mark when Sadio Mane headed an Andrew Robertson cross in from the top of the six-yard box to make it 2-0.

Mohamed Salah made it 3-0 right before half-time, lofting a delicate volley over the keeper from a Trent Alexander-Arnold long ball for his league-leading 20th goal of the season.

The strike also made Salah the first African-born player to score 20 goals in consecutive seasons in the English top flight as Jurgen Klopp's team had the result done and dusted by the break.

"We are happy with the points we have and now we are focused on the next game. We have a mindset that works and we try to create problems for each opponent by working hard," Klopp said.

"It's obviously an outstanding group of players, who did well against a Huddersfield side who are much better than the result shows. They had proper counter-attacks so we needed to be patient and we scored wonderful goals."

Daniel Sturridge, in for the injured Roberto Firmino, looked to have made it 4-0 shortly after the restart when he turned home an Alexander-Arnold cross on a counter-attack, but the referee had the flag up for offside on the play.

Liverpool's fourth, and Mane's second, came shortly after though when the Senegal international backtracked to catch up to a Jordan Henderson ball into the box and head it past Lossl to extend the lead.

Klopp made two changes after the goal, giving Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain his first senior minutes since suffering a devastating knee injury against Roma in the Champions League one year ago and also bringing on Xherdan Shaqiri for the final 20 minutes.

Oxlade-Chamberlain nearly had a dream start to his return when Salah sprang him in the penalty area only for Lossl to stuff his close-range shot on the line and preserve the 4-0 scoreline, before Mane's effort at a third headed goal came crashing back off the post.

Salah made it five as full-time approached, weaving through the Huddersfield defence to be first to a Robertson square ball in front of goal and tap home to edge in front of teammate Mane in the race for the Golden Boot with 21 and 20 goals, respectively.

Robertson now has 11 assists on the season to become the first Premier League defender with double-digit assists in a season since Antonio Valencia did it for Man United in 2011-12.

The three points puts Liverpool on 91 for the season with two games to play, but they'll need Manchester City to drop points in one of their remaining three matches to have a chance at winning the Premier League for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

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    Major League Baseball
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    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: info@idig.com

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