Liverpool opened a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League as breakaway goals by Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah sealed a 2-0 win at home to Aston Villa on Saturday.

Manchester City's earlier defeat was the perfect pre-match tonic for Liverpool and Núñez's 20th minute strike following a lightning counter-attack set the tone at Anfield.

Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher made some vital saves to preserve his side's lead but Salah raced clear in the 84th minute to wrap up the points and maintain their sensational start to the season under new manager Arne Slot.

They have won 15 out of 17 games in all competitions since the Dutchman replaced Jurgen Klopp in the close season.

Slot's side have 28 points from 11 games with reigning champions City on 23. Villa's third league defeat of the season leaves them down in eighth place with 18 points.

Pep Guardiola is enduring the worst statistical run of his managerial career after Manchester City lost their fourth straight game on Saturday.

Brighton came from behind to beat the English champions 2-1 in the Premier League to leave second-placed City five points behind leaders Liverpool.

City haven't lost four games in a row in all competitions since 2006 -- two years before the Abu Dhabi takeover of the club and 10 years before Guardiola's game-changing arrival on the blue side of Manchester.

As for Guardiola, widely regarded as the world's best coach, he has never lost four straight matches anywhere in his illustrious time in management that began in 2007.

The closest he has come was in the 2014-15 season when, at Bayern Munich, his team lost in a penalty shootout in the German Cup followed by three straight defeats -- two in the Bundesliga, when Bayern had already clinched the title, and once in the Champions League.

So, Guardiola was asked, is this the end of the era, after leading City to an unprecedented four straight top-flight league titles?

"It's what the people want, right?" he posed. "That's normal -- we won a lot. I would just like to have all the squad [available]."

That won't be happening anytime soon considering star center midfielder Rodri, this year's Ballon d'Or winner, is out for the season with an ACL injury. Guardiola also had his best four center backs -- Rúben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké -- unavailable, while playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is clearly not sharp or fit enough on his return from injury.

"When we play bad, I am the first to say, 'Oh, oh, I don't like it.' But I don't have that feeling," Guardiola said.

Indeed, City were dominant in the first half and went in front when Erling Haaland scored his league-leading 12th goal of the campaign.

However, like in the 4-1 loss at Sporting in the Champions League on Tuesday, City couldn't sustain its level in the second half and Brighton fought back, with Joao Pedro equalizing in the 78th and setting up Matt O'Riley for the winner in the 83rd on his Premier League debut.

City's losing run started at Tottenham in the Carabao Cup last week, before a 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth in the league -- their first league defeat in 11 months.

For Guardiola, it's simple. City's squad cannot cope with all its injuries while the fixtures are coming thick and fast.

"We cannot do it every three days, three days, four days, three days with the [injury] situation we have," he said, adding with an air of desperation, "I would love to have the players [back]."

Captain Kyle Walker was more blunt it what Man City need to reverse their slump.

"It's down to us as a group of players to make sure that we're fighting for this great club," he told Sky Sports. "It's tough to take, and I can assure you everyone wants to turn it around as quickly as possible."

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott plans to undergo season-ending surgery on his partially torn hamstring, pending the opinion of one final specialist, sources told ESPN.

Prescott is flying to New York early next week to meet with the specialist, but Cowboys doctors and trainers already believe he needs the surgery that would sideline him for four months, sources said. If the specialist agrees with that assessment, the surgery is scheduled to take place Wednesday.

The Cowboys believe it is better to address the injury now than to let it heal on its own and potentially encounter complications later. Speaking Friday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Prescott wanted to avoid surgery. In recent years, he has undergone surgeries on right ankle, right thumb and left shoulder.

But Dallas also understands the reality of its situation. The Cowboys are 3-5 headed into Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) with quarterback Cooper Rush slated to replace Prescott and make his first start of the season.

If Dallas loses, it will be 3-6 and several games behind division leaders Washington and Philadelphia. The Cowboys know they're not far from putting their emphasis on making sure Prescott is fully healthy for the 2025 season.

Either way, Dallas is expected to place Prescott on injured reserve next week. The Cowboys did not put him on IR on Saturday with the partial avulsion of the right hamstring, which means the earliest now he could return will be Dec. 15 against the Carolina Panthers, if the team makes the roster move next week.

Multiple sources said Prescott would need six to eight weeks to recover without surgery.

The Cowboys did not need Prescott's spot on the 53-man roster for Sunday's game against Philadelphia. Instead, he will be among the team's inactive players.

Rush will start against the Eagles with Trey Lance as the backup. Coach Mike McCarthy said the team is considering adding a quarterback to either the active roster or the practice squad.

The Cowboys don't believe they have to change their offense for Rush. When Rush was under center the last time Prescott was injured and missed time, the Cowboys didn't score more 25 points in a game, but their defense allowed an average of just over 15.

There also remains the strong possibility that the Cowboys will deploy certain packages that use Lance. Both Rush and Lance are in the last year of their contracts.

This is expected to mark the second time in his career that Prescott ends the season on injured reserve. In 2020, he suffered a dislocation and compound fracture of his right ankle in Week 5.

The Cowboys also elevated cornerback Josh Butler and wide receiver Jalen Moreno-Cropper from the practice squad this week. Cornerback Trevon Diggs, who did not practice Friday because of an illness, was able to get work in Saturday.

ESPN's Todd Archer contributed to this report.

TAMPA, Fla. -- On Friday, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said only "something crazy" happening on the team's flight to Tampa would prevent running back Christian McCaffrey from making his debut Sunday.

That, apparently, did not happen, as the Niners made McCaffrey's return to the 53-man roster official Saturday. They activated him from injured reserve after he missed the first eight games because of bilateral Achilles tendinitis.

For McCaffrey, the chance to get back on the field comes not a moment too soon.

"Sometimes you take it for granted that you play this game for a living and it's what you do, it's what you train for, but when it's taken from you, even just for a little bit of time, it makes you really appreciate every single day you're on the grass," McCaffrey said Friday.

To make room on the roster for McCaffrey, the 49ers waived running back Patrick Taylor Jr. on Friday night. Adding McCaffrey leaves the Niners with four backs on the depth chart with Jordan Mason, Isaac Guerendo and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

McCaffrey went on injured reserve on Sept. 14 and has remained there for nearly two months before his activation Saturday. Through a time that McCaffrey described Friday as "tough," he has gone through extensive rehab and treatment plans to get back on the field.

That included a trip to Germany the weekend of Sept. 22 to visit with a specialist. While McCaffrey declined to get into details of that trip, he did say he would "do anything to come back."

McCaffrey opened his practice window Monday and then participated in all four of the team's sessions this week with no apparent issues, opening the door for his return. He credited Niners general manager John Lynch, coach Kyle Shanahan, owner Jed York and the team's medical personnel for helping him get ready to come back.

"From John to Kyle to Jed and the whole training staff, the way that they treated everything and the way that they went about it was amazing," McCaffrey said. "Sometimes you need people in your corner that can look after you and maybe they know what's best for you in times where maybe you try to suck it up or tough something out that might be risky. The way that they handled it and the training staff and the strength staff really fortunate for them."

McCaffrey wasn't the only Niner to open his practice window this week. Offensive lineman Jon Feliciano and defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos also began practicing again, but their returns will have to wait at least another week, as San Francisco opted not to activate either of them on Saturday afternoon.

TAMPA, Florida -- San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was fined $11,255 by the NFL for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat during a postgame interview last month, a league source told ESPN.

Bosa, after a victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 27, barged in on a postgame interview involving teammates George Kittle, Brock Purdy and Isaac Guerendo wearing a white hat with "Make America Great Again" in yellow letters.

According to league rules, players are prohibited from displaying a personal message or non-sponsored branding "at any point throughout a game day when visible at the stadium and TV audience, including postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field."

On Wednesday, Bosa said he knew a fine was possible but indicated he'd have no problem paying the tab.

"I haven't got one yet, but if it comes, it comes," Bosa said. "It was well worth it."

After wearing the hat in support of former President Donald Trump's candidacy during the postgame interview, Bosa made his way to the podium for his usual postgame session. When asked multiple times about his decision to wear the hat, Bosa declined to elaborate on his reasoning, saying "I'm not gonna talk too much about it, but I think it's an important time."

The 49ers had their bye after the win against the Cowboys. Bosa did not speak to media again until his usual Wednesday session, which followed Tuesday's election, where Trump was declared the winner. On Wednesday, Bosa, who signed a five-year, $170 million extension in 2023, again declined to discuss his decision to wear the hat but noted that he had a "good time" watching the election coverage and stayed up for the results.

"I don't think my position on speaking about it is going to change," Bosa said. "Clearly, the nation spoke. And we got what we got."

ATLANTA -- Cam Ward and No. 4 Miami finally ran out of second-half comebacks as Haynes King led Georgia Tech to a 28-23 win over the previously unbeaten Hurricanes on Saturday, giving the Yellow Jackets their first win over a top-five team in 15 years.

Fans rushed the field, toppling both goalposts, after the game.

King ran for 93 yards with a touchdown and threw for a score. The Yellow Jackets overcame 347 passing yards and three touchdown passes by Ward, a Heisman Trophy contender.

Miami (9-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 4 College Football Playoff) was denied its first 10-0 start since 2017. Georgia Tech (6-4, 4-3) became bowl-eligible and ended a two-game losing streak that came as King, the dual-threat quarterback, was held out with a right shoulder injury.

Miami's unbeaten run through its first nine games included three second-half comebacks. Miami beat Duke 53-31 last week after the Blue Devils led 28-17 in the third quarter. Against Georgia Tech, the Hurricanes' only lead was 10-7 and they trailed the rest of the way after the Yellow Jackets went up 14-10 in the second quarter.

King's 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave the Yellow Jackets a 28-16 lead. Ward's 38-yard scoring pass to Xavier Restrepo cut the lead to 28-23. Miami's final possession started at its 19 with 1:52 left, but Ward fumbled when sacked by Romello Height, and Jordan van den Berg recovered for Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech's Jamal Haynes broke through Miami's defensive front for a 65-yard run on the second play of the game and added a 16-yard scoring run two plays later as the Yellow Jackets took a 7-0 lead.

Ward answered with a record-setting 74-yard scoring pass to Elijah Arroyo. It was Ward's school-record 30th touchdown pass of the season. Ward had been tied with Steve Walsh, who threw 29 scoring passes in 1988.

Haynes left the game following a big hit from safety Jaden Harris on the Yellow Jackets' next possession and didn't return.

The takeaway for Miami: Three fourth-down stops were costly for Ward and the Miami offense. Ward was pressured and threw an incompletion on fourth-and-3 from the Georgia Tech 23 in the second quarter. Ward threw another incompletion on fourth-and-1 from the Georgia Tech 39 on the Hurricanes' opening drive in the second half. Finally, Ward was sacked on fourth-and-16 from the Georgia Tech 22 early in the fourth quarter after a penalty wiped out an apparent scoring pass to Isaiah Horton on fourth-and-6.

For Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets earned their first win over a top-five team since beating No. 4 Virginia 28-23 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2009. The Yellow Jackets demonstrated offensive creativity in using the running skills of King and wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. to overcome the injuries to Haynes and Alexander. Backup quarterback Aaron Philo added a touchdown pass.

Poll implications: The Hurricanes will take a hit in the AP Top 25 and College Football Playoff rankings with their first loss while also dropping out of a first-place tie with SMU atop the ACC standings.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

She had seen off both the world number one and two in Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek en route to the final, and piled the pressure on her opponent in the early stages against Zheng.

In what was only their second meeting - Gauff having won their first in straight sets in Rome earlier this year - Zheng, 22, was forced to save four break points, including three in a captivating fifth game.

But it was the Chinese seventh seed who got the decisive break in the opener, a double fault from Gauff after a hat-trick of unforced errors giving Zheng the advantage from which she sealed the set as Gauff slammed a backhand into the net.

Zheng's serve is one of her greatest weapons, but she struggled to show it off against Gauff, with her first of only four aces coming at the start of the second set after she had broken Gauff again.

With renewed determination, the American restored parity in an outstanding return game, after which the pair again traded breaks. But the unperturbed Gauff broke Zheng's serve for the third successive game to take the match to a decider.

At the start of the third set, Gauff saved three break points before conceding as Zheng took back control on her serve - yet it was only temporary.

Gauff soon broke back, her fine play at the net rewarded as Zheng sent a forehand long, before securing another love hold.

Zheng then won three successive games, dropping just four points along the way, and looked to be sauntering towards the win. But a game of errors when serving for the match brought Gauff back into contention.

That was the start of the American's own three-game run, her spree halted as Zheng saved two championship points to ensure the tournament would be decided by a tie-break, which Gauff utterly dominated.

The victory marks her third title of a year in which she did not reach a singles Grand Slam final, with her best runs coming at the Australian Open and on the Roland Garros clay, when she was eliminated in the semi-finals.

Fourth-round exits followed at Wimbledon and in New York, where she had been defending her maiden major title from 2023.

Manchester City lost 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday, thanks to late goals from substitutes Joao Pedro and Matt O'Riley that gave the champions their fourth consecutive loss in all competitions.

The defeat marks the first time City coach Pep Guardiola has lost four in a row in his managerial career and kept his side second in the league standings on 23 points from 11 matches. Brighton climbed to fourth on 19 points.

City looked poised to end their run after Erling Haaland scored in the 23rd minute when Mateo Kovacic threaded a long pass between Brighton's two centre backs, and the Norway international booted in his own rebound.

Brighton improved after the break and Pedro drew the hosts level in the 78th minute when City could not clear the ball and the Brazil international pounced to lash it past Ederson.

"Last season we dropped too many points and the gaffer told us to believe in ourselves this season and we are doing well this season against the big teams," Pedro told Sky Sports.

O'Riley made his Premier League debut a memorable one when he secured the well-earned victory five minutes later, latching onto Pedro's through ball and slotting home from close range past Éderson's outstretched arm.

Guardiola will rue City's squandered first-half chances, including a couple from Haaland in the span of a few minutes that on a different night could have seen the Norwegian celebrating a hat-trick.

The first chance saw goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen dive to stop a blistering Haaland shot with his right ankle at the near post. Haaland then headed just over the bar.

While Brighton had only 39.5% possession, it felt like a goal was coming in the second half. The hosts had a terrific chance soon after the break when Jack Hinshelwood leapt high to head down a looping cross from Pervis Estupiñán that an alert Ederson swatted away.

City have been hit by injuries with Nathan Aké, John Stones, Jack Grealish and Rúben Dias missing on Saturday, alongside longer-term absentees Rodri and Oscar Bobb.

Their previous three defeats were a 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur that eliminated them from the League Cup, a shock 2-1 league loss at Bournemouth, and a 4-1 Champions League thrashing by Sporting that had midfielder Bernardo Silva saying City were in a "dark place".