Sports

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah netted his first league goal since August 25 as the Reds thrashed Southampton 3-0 on Saturday to leap-frog Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table and confirm their best start to a season. 

Juergen Klopp’s side have won all six league games and are two points ahead of Chelsea, who have five wins from five games and play West Ham United on Sunday. 

An own goal by Wesley Hoedt started the visitors’ misery in the 10th minute as Xherdan Shaqiri’s shot hit Shane Long before bouncing into the net off the Dutch defender and Joel Matip made it two with a header from a corner 11 minutes later. 

Liverpool’s Egypt forward Salah, who had failed to score in his last two league games, went close with a delightful flicked effort with his back to goal at the end of the first half, the Anfield crowd singing his name in praise. 

He made amends minutes later, though, bundling home a Shaqiri free kick that came back off the woodwork in first-half stoppage time for his third goal of the season.

Southampton failed to mount a comeback after the break and the result left them languishing in mid-table.

“I’m really, really happy about how we played the game today, because it was clear it was a really difficult game, we knew that form the last few games when we played Southampton, but today we were in a really good mood,” Klopp said.

For all Liverpool’s firepower, it is their defence that has been most impressive this season, keeping another clean sheet and barely allowing Southampton a shot on target. 

“A clean sheet is very important and staying concentrated in an intense period is difficult ... Joel Matip was spot on and the full backs had outstanding work rate and I liked what I saw,” the German coach said. 

Central defender Virgil van Dijk had to be substituted 10 minutes into the second half. 

“He had already before the PSG game a bruise in his ribs which is uncomfortable... he said he could not shout anymore, but he should be ok,” Klopp said.

TOKYO — US Open champion Naomi Osaka stormed past Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the final of the Pan Pacific Open, where she will face Karolina Pliskova.

Osaka’s victory in front of an expectant home crowd was her 10th in a row and did not look in doubt from the moment the World No. 7 pounded down a huge ace with her first serve of the match.

The 20-year-old, who became Japan’s first Grand Slam singles champion in New York two weeks ago, hit a further eight aces to overwhelm World No. 37 Giorgi.

Osaka has carried the poise and power that saw her overcome Serena Williams in the Flushing Meadows final across the Pacific with her and, helped by eight double-faults from Giorgi, wrapped up the victory in just 72 minutes. 

A runner up at this event two years ago, Osaka has not dropped a set so far this week and has had her service broken just once. 

“It’s a bit surprising but I felt kind of calm going into the first round match and a lot of people were surprised because they thought I would be very nervous,” Osaka told reporters of her stunning run of form.

“Today was the first match that I felt nervous. But other than that I feel like I’ve been playing well and I’ve been trying to set little goals for myself. 

“Because if you set a really high goal, than normally, for me at least, I tend to overwhelm myself. I’m trying to stay at a consistent level so hopefully I can keep doing that.”

Pliskova battles on

Osaka advanced to face World No. 8 Pliskova in the final after the big-serving Czech outlasted Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy match that lasted more than two hours.

Pliskova has spent more time on court than any other player at this tournament despite a first round bye and was once again dragged into a long contest by a dogged Vekic.

The former World No. 1 started as if intent on finishing the contest as quickly as possible, storming to a 4-0 lead before wrapping up the first set in less than half-an-hour.

Vekic, though, had defeated top 10 players Sloane Stephens and Caroline Garcia en route to the last four and recovered from an early break in the second set to secure two of her own.

A weary-looking Pliskova dug deep in the decider and the quality of her superior hitting eventually told as she broke Vekic’s resolve with a strong start to the third set.

“I think tomorrow is a completely different day,” said Pliskova, who admitted to feeling tired during the second set. 

“It’s the final, so you just forget about all those minutes that you spent on the court. It’s the last match also, so I just want to put in everything, what I have left in body.”

Currently just outside the eight qualifying spots for next month’s WTA Finals in Singapore, Pliskova has now spent 420 minutes on court in Tokyo compared to 222 minutes for Osaka.

Both players are in the top 10 in terms of number of aces served on the tour this year.

“I have played Pliskova twice already and so I know she is a great player,” said Osaka, who won their last meeting at Indian Wells.

“She has basically every shot and she has a really good serve, so I know it will be a very difficult match.”

Pliskova added: “I know her game. I have my weapons, she also has hers. It’s going to be a lot about serves.” 

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s U-16 women’s football team plays its last Group A match against Guam on Sunday at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-16 Women’s Championship Round 1 qualifiers in currently under way in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Jordan crashed 9-0 to China on Friday and is now third in the group after it held Uzbekistan 0-0 and beat Sri Lanka 7-0. China leads the table ahead of Uzbekistan.

A total of 30 teams are playing in six groups. The top team and best two second placed teams move will move to Round 2 of the qualifying campaign in February 2019, where the teams will play in two groups with the top two from each group advancing to the finals.

Other Arab teams at the qualifiers include Palestine in Group D and Lebanon, the UAE and Bahrain in Group F.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s U-16 men’s team held North Korea 2-2 in the opening match of its Group B 2018 AFC U-16 Championship match on Friday.

The event which will run until October 7 saw Oman beat Yemen 2-0 in another Group B match. In other matches Malaysia beat Tajikistan 6-2, Japan beat Thailand 5-2, Indonesia beat Iran 2-0 and India beat Vietnam 1-0. Jordan will next play Oman on Monday. 

Organised by the AFC, and held once every two years for Asian U-16 teams, the competition also serves as a qualification tournament for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with the top four countries qualifying. Iraq is the reigning champs. 

The U-19 women’s national team is also preparing for the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers set for October 20-28. A total of 27 teams will play in six groups with Jordan in Group E alongside Malaysia, the Northern Mariana Islands and Vietnam. 

The top team from each group and the top two second placed teams move to the second round set for April 2019, where the teams will play in two groups with the top two from each group advancing to the finals.

In men’s competitions, Jordan was drawn in Group C for the AFC U-19 Championship to play alongside Australia, South Korea and Vietnam. The Championship hosted by Indonesia as of October 17, will see 16 teams playing in four groups with the eventual semifinalists playing in the FIFA U-19 World Cup.

Jordan had failed to qualify to the championships in 2014 and 2016 after earlier qualifying four times and reaching the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007. The team finished fourth in 2006, but exited the first round in 2008 and 2010 and reached the quarters in 2012. 

Earlier this year, Jordan’s U-23 team were knocked out of the first round of the 3rd AFC U-23 Championship which acts, as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In 2016, Jordan was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the AFC U-23 Championship and missed the Rio Olympics. In the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship in 2014, Jordan took third place when it beat South Korea while Iraq won the title after defeating Saudi Arabia.

In women’s Asian competitions, this year saw Jordan becomes the first country in the West Asia zone to host the AFC Women’s Asian Cup which is held every four years. The continent’s top eight teams played the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

In 2016, Jordan hosted the U-17 FIFA World Cup, the first of its kind to take place in the Middle East from which the top five advanced to the Women’s World Cup 2019 in France.

AMMAN — Jordan remained in 110th spot when the latest FIFA Rankings were issued over the weekend, and the national team’s competitive form was further cast into doubt this month as it gears up for the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE. 

This month, Jordan’s coach Jamal Abu Abed was relieved of his duty by the Jordan Football Association after the team only managed a 0-0 tie with Oman and earlier lost to Lebanon 1-0.

The team’s inconsistent form as it gears up for the continent’s most important football event comes before they regroup to play Albania on October 10 and World Cup runner up Croatia on October 15. 

While the team’s path to the championship was not difficult against relatively unknown teams in the Asian continent now comes the serious part, the Asian Cup is a different story. Jordan will play alongside Australia, Syria and Palestine in Group B as 24 teams will play in six groups with the top two from each group and four third placed teams advance to the Round of 16. 

The Kingdom’s competitive edge is lacking and judging by FIFA Rankings, it seems there will be a tough task ahead. Once among the Asia top 10, Jordan is now 19th in the continent trailing Iran (33), Australia (43), Japan (54), South Korea (55), Saudi Arabia (71), Syria (74), China (76), the UAE (77), Lebanon (77), Oman (85), Iraq (89), Kyrgyzstan (91), Qatar (94), Uzbekistan (96), India (97), Palestine (100) Vietnam (102) and North Korea (109). Tunisia is the top-ranked Arab team at 23rd, followed by Morocco 45th, Egypt 64th, Algeria 69th and, Saudi Arabia 71st.

Belgium now shares top spot with World Cup champ France followed by Brazil, Croatia, Uruguay, England, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and Denmark. 

Jordan is now lagging behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams. Jordan ended 2017 at 107th — a position they did not better throughout last year. 

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan reached the Asian Championship three times. The peak was at the 13th Asian Cup, when it lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th in August 2004.

After elimination from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, playing in the Asian finals was a priority for Jordan which has steadily slid down FIFA Rankings and the team has had inconsistent results compared to 2013 when Jordan was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time.

AMMAN — Jordan karate player Abdulrahman Al Masatfah is through to the -67kg final of the WK Series A tournament taking place Chile, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Masatfah started his journey on Friday with a win over Bulgaria’s Rivov Vasel, 8-0, before he beat Belgium’s Rozelo Jes, 8-1.

The 2018 Asian gold medalist then beat Costa Rica’s Luis Diego, 8-0, and the USA’s Noah Faris, 8-0.

In the quarter-final he overcame Turkey’s Omar Uzer, 5-1, and then he reached the final by beating Ukraine’s Denis Koveto, 10-2.

He will meet Brazil’s Vinicio Agoero in the final on Sunday. The event has welcomed over 900 players representing 68 countries.

AMMAN — Jordan’s young 3x3 Basketball team will compete in Group A at the 3rd Youth Olympic Games that will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from October 6 until October 20, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.  Jordan, the only male Arab team to qualify, has been drawn with China, Slovenia, Turkmenistan and Georgia.

The 20 nations has been divided into four groups: Group B: Ukraine, Andorra, Venezuela, Brazil and New Zealand. Group C: Estonia, the USA, Mongolia, Russia and Argentina. Group D: Italy, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belgium. Egypt have qualified a team for the women’s event.

Real Madrid got their Champions League title defence off to a strong start on Wednesday by convincingly beating AS Roma 3-0 at home with goals from Isco, Gareth Bale and a stoppage-time strike from returning striker Mariano Diaz.

Julen Lopetegui’s side, who have won the last three editions of the competition, made a flying start against last season’s semifinalists Roma, but took their time to make their dominance count.

Isco, Bale, Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal all missed relatively simple chances for the hosts, who were not far from going behind when Turkish youngster Cengiz Under darted in behind the defence but sent his finish flying wide.

It took a wonderfully struck free kick from Isco right at the end of the first half for Real to take a deserved lead, and their dominance continued in the second half.

Bale saw a deflected shot bounce off the crossbar shortly after the interval but got the goal he craved not long after, racing on to a raking pass from former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Luka Modric and arrowing in off the post in the 58th minute.

Roma did not completely wilt after conceding again and it took an impressive save from Keylor Navas to deny the lively Under, as the Costa Rican goalkeeper justified his inclusion in the team after briefly losing his place to Thibaut Courtois.

Roma goalkeeper Robin Olsen did his best to keep the scoreline dignified by denying Isco and Marco Asensio but was powerless to stop Mariano.

The striker was playing his first game after returning to Madrid from Olympique Lyonnais and got the crowd on their feet with a wonderful curling strike into the top corner. 

Real lead Champions League Group G with three points after Viktoria Plzen blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to CSKA Moscow, who equalised in the 95th minute with a converted penalty from Croatian striker Nikola Vlasic.

Bayern’s Sanches scores

Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches made a memorable return to former club Benfica Lisbon, scoring once and helping set up the other goal in the Germans’ 2-0 Champions League Group E opening win on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Benfica youth product, who joined Bayern in 2016, but hardly played before being loaned out to Swansea City last season, earned a rare start due to the injury of Thiago Alcantara.

He made the most of his chance as Bayern cruised to a comfortable victory despite a string of injury absences that also include World Cup winner Corentin Tolisso, Kingsley Coman and Rafinha.

Talented and lightning-quick, Portugal international Sanches emerged as a teenaged sensation following their Euro 2016 victory, but Bayern fans had seen little of his abilities until Wednesday.

Manchester City suffer

Manchester City suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat at home to Olympique Lyonnais in their opening Champions League Group F game on Wednesday.

Lyon took the lead in the 26th minute through Maxwel Cornet, who drove home after Fabian Delph made a hash of clearing a Nabil Fekir cross from the left.

With the suspended City manager Pep Guardiola forced to watch from the stands, Fekir the made it 2-0 to the French side in the 43rd minute with a sweetly struck drive after being set-up by Memphis Depay.

It could have been 3-0 when Depay hit the post on the hour but after that let-off City earned themselves a lifeline through Bernardo Silva, who produced a smart finish after a superb jinking run from substitute Leroy Sane.

Lyon, however, smothered City’s attack well and kept chances to a minimum in the latter stages as they held on for an impressive victory.

LIVERPOOL, England — Roberto Firmino struck a stoppage-time winner as Liverpool beat Paris St Germain 3-2 at Anfield on Tuesday after Kylian Mbappe looked to have secured a point for the French side in a compelling Champions League Group C clash.

Anfield played host to some memorable matches in this competition last season as Liverpool marched towards a losing final appearance against Real Madrid, and the first match of the current group stage proved to be another electric night of entertainment.

PSG had come back from two goals down with French World Cup winner Mbappe equalising in the 83rd minute, but then Firmino, who started on the bench due to an eye injury, drilled home a low shot in the final seconds.

It was a deserved victory for Juergen Klopp’s team who had been on top for most of the match and handled the sport’s most expensively-assembled frontline with some confidence.

Yet it was agonising for PSG, who had looked buried in the first half but showed character to claw themselves back on level terms.

Daniel Sturridge, who had not started a Champions League game since his days with Chelsea in 2012, was given the nod to replace Firmino in attack and the English striker responded superbly.

With Anfield in loud and proud mood, Liverpool came roaring out and put Thomas Tuchel’s side under intense pressure from the outset.

James Milner brought another roar out of the home fans when he left Neymar crumpled on the floor after a crunching, but fair, tackle on the Brazil forward.

The former Barcelona striker offered a reminder of his threat, however, in the 17th minute as he broke away from Trent Alexander-Arnold and tested his compatriot Alisson Becker, in the Liverpool goal, with a snap-shot.

Liverpool were winning every challenge in midfield and managing to nullify the dangers presented by Neymar and Mbappe and they were charging forward with intent at every opportunity.

It was Sturridge who opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a fine header from an Andy Robertson cross, the striker getting in between Thiago Silva and Presnel Kimpembe and powering home his effort.

Six minutes later the Reds doubled their lead when PSG defender Juan Bernat tripped Georginio Wijnaldum in the area and Milner slotted home the penalty.

The Parisians got themselves back into the game though five minutes before the break when Robertson, who had been outstanding in restricting Mbappe, failed to clear and Thomas Meunier drove home a first-time effort.

Liverpool thought they had a third after the break when Mohamed Salah had the ball in the net but the effort was ruled out by referee Cuneyt Cakir who correctly ruled that Sturridge had fouled Areola when the pair scrapped for a loose ball.

Even at 2-1 Liverpool looked comfortably in charge but with seven minutes to go, Salah carelessly gave the ball away in his own half, Neymar ran towards the home defence and the ball fell to the 19-year-old Mbappe who drove home with supreme confidence.

Just as the home crowd were reconciling themselves to two dropped points, Firmino showed he could match the Frenchman for clinical finishing, eking out just enough space for a drilled, diagonal shot which sent Anfield into ecstasy.

Red Star Belgrade ground out a 0-0 home draw against Napoli on the Serbian side’s Champions League debut as their goalkeeper Milan Borjan made a flurry of telling saves in a pulsating Group C clash.

AMMAN  — The Jordan Professional Football League heads into Week 4 on Thursday with Jazira having taken the lead atop the 12-team standings leaving rivals Faisali and titleholders Wihdat trailing behind.

This week, Jazira beat Hussein 3-1 to take the lead ahead of their next match against Aqaba, who fell to 7th after losing to Baqaa 1-0 as the latter climbed to 6th. Shabab Urdun are second after managing a 1-1 draw with Salt who are now fifth. Shabab Urdun will take on Wihdat while Salt play Faisali in tough matches this round.

Baqaa will play That Ras who are 10th while Hussein meet Sarih who held Wihdat 1-1. Faisali held Ramtha while Ahli held That Ras by the same score.

In the earlier two stages Jazira beat Baqaa 4-2, Shabab Urdun beat Ramtha 3-1, That Ras held Faisali 1-1 , Aqaba beat Ahli 4-0, Baqaa beat Hussein 3-1, Sarih held Ramtha 1-1, Jazira beat Ahli 2-0, Salt upset Wihdat 1-0 to shape the current standings

This week Jazira lost their home match 1-0 to the Iraqi Air Force in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup which was twice won by Faisali and once by Shabab Urdun. Ramtha will host Tunisia’s Etoile Sportive Du Sahel in the return leg of the Arab Clubs Championship on September 28 as they seek to makes up for their 3-1 defeat in Leg 1. Last year, Faisali finished runner-up to Tunisia’s Tarajji in the Arab Championship after an impressive performance which included two wins over Egyptian veterans Ahli. 

This week, the national team also tied Oman 0-0 before they regroup to play Albania on October 10 and World Cup runner-up Croatia on October 15. Jordan lost to Lebanon 1-0 earlier this month as the team’s coach Jamal Abu Abed was relieved of his duty by the Jordan Football Association as the team gears up for the Asian Cup — the continent’s most important football event. The team beat Cyprus 3-0 earlier in this summer.

The 2018-2019 football season kicked off in August when league champs Wihdat beat Jordan Cup champs Jazira in the 36th Jordan Super Cup.

Last season, Wihdat won the league for a record 16th time. Jazira  conceded the 35th Jordan Super Cup to Faisali and the Jordan Football Association Shield final to Wihdat. Jazira also finished runner-up in the league.

AMMAN — Just a fortnight after returning from its most successful Asian Games ever, Jordan has announced that it will be taking its biggest delegation to a Youth Olympic Games next month, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) News Service. 

No less than 12 youngsters have qualified to the games, which will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from October 6-20.

The final athlete to be confirmed this week was swimming sensation, Mohammed Al Bedour, who has made the qualifying time for two events. It’s a staggering mark of progress for sport in Jordan, with just two athletes qualifying to Singapore 2010 and only one to Nanjing 2014. “Our performances at the Asian Games, and now this Youth Olympics squad announcement, show that the hard work being put in by so many people is starting to pay off.

It motivates us to continue to implement our ambitious strategy which includes trying to qualify the maximum number of athletes to the Olympic Games,” said Nasser Majali, JOC secretary general. 

Majali said the athletes provide a tremendous source of national pride and also congratulated the coaches and officials who are playing their part in developing their respective sports.

As well as five individual sports, Jordan will be sending a 3x3 Basketball team, the first time a Jordanian team has qualified to an Olympic Games.

Jordan previously won two medals in Singapore through taekwondo fighters Dana Haidar and Yazan Al Sadeq.

Team Jordan is made up of Mohammed Al Bedour (swimming); Sara Al Armouti (equestrian); Zaid Mustafa, Rama Abu Al Rub and Natalie Al Humaidi (taekwondo); Abdullah Hammad (karate); Samer A1 Jwhar and Abdullah Al Mulaifi (athletics) and the 3x3 basketball team (four players).