Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring his side's third goal against Leicester City at Anfield. PA
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring his side's third goal against Leicester City at Anfield. PA
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring his side's third goal against Leicester City at Anfield. PA
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring his side's third goal against Leicester City at Anfield. PA

Liverpool v Leicester: Leaders insist it is 'too early to be celebrating' as 3-1 win bolsters title hopes


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Liverpool moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favourites were made to fight back to clinch a 3-1 win against struggling Leicester on Thursday.

Arne Slot's team received an early shock when Jordan Ayew scored at Anfield. But the league leaders recovered to equalise just before the interval through Cody Gakpo.

Then, England midfielder Curtis Jones marked his 100th top-flight appearance with the second goal soon after half-time.

Mohamed Salah's 19th goal this term wrapped up Liverpool's 11th win in their last 13 games in all competitions. The Reds moved to 42 points at the top of the standings. They also have a game in hand over second-placed Chelsea, who are on 35, as well as third-placed Nottingham Forest on 34.

Salah said his team had to fight hard to find a way past a dogged Leicester team.

He told Amazon Prime: "It's a good result. They were better in the first half, in the way they prepare themselves, they were very good.

Curtis Jones scores Liverpool's second goal against Leicester City. EPA
Curtis Jones scores Liverpool's second goal against Leicester City. EPA

"The way they were standing in front of the box, it was quite hard for us especially in the first half, but we managed to score three goals and it's a great result.

"(Gakpo's) was a great goal and it gave us confidence in the second half to try to win the game...It's something he's practised a lot in training, it was a great finish from him."

On his own goal, Salah added: "It's great. The most important thing for me is the team winning. Hopefully we win the Premier League and I have a big impact. We just need to focus and carry on like that."

Despite the result, manager Slot played down the significance of their place at the top of the table.

Chelsea's surprise defeat by Fulham meant victory over the Foxes stretched their lead to seven points with the halfway point of the campaign fast approaching.

But Slot remained nonchalant despite the clamour growing around their chances of adding another title to the one won in 2020.

"If you are in this game for a long time like the players and I am, then 20 games before the end you don't look at it as there are so many challenges ahead of you," he said.

"Injuries and and a bit of bad luck can happen to any team, it is far too early to be already celebrating - but it is nice for us to be where we are.

"I don't think there was any easy win for us in any of these games; it could have been an easy win against Tottenham but we conceded two and it was then 5-2 - that tells you how difficult it is to win even when you have all your players available.

"That is why we have to take it one game at a time. The league table is something of course we are aware of but we always understand how many games there are to go."

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim applauds fans after the defeat to Wolves. Reuters
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim applauds fans after the defeat to Wolves. Reuters

United's struggles continue

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim said he needs time on the training ground to iron out the Red Devils' flaws after a 2-0 defeat to lowly Wolves.

United's case at Molineux was not helped by a third red card of the season for captain Bruno Fernandes just two minutes into the second half.

Matheus Cunha then exposed the visitors' frailties from set-pieces by scoring directly from a corner before the Brazilian teed up Hwang Hee-chan to seal a vital win that lifted Wolves out of the relegation zone.

Amorim has won just two of his first seven Premier League games to leave United languishing down in 14th.

"I think we were always in control, not always dominating, but in control, but the same things, set-pieces and also the sending off was really hard for us," said Amorim.

"I said it before everybody: it will be a long journey and this moment will be really tough. We have to continue. We need to have time to train."

United have now lost their last three consecutive games with a 4-3 League Cup exit to Tottenham followed by a damaging 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth on Sunday.

In the last five league games, Amorim's side have conceded from either a corner or a free-kick.

A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
  • 2018: Formal work begins
  • November 2021: First 17 volumes launched 
  • November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
  • October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
  • November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket
'The Batman'

Stars:Robert Pattinson

Director:Matt Reeves

Rating: 5/5

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Checks continue

A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.

Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES

Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm

In The Heights

Directed by: Jon M. Chu

Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda

Rating: ****

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Envision%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarthik%20Mahadevan%20and%20Karthik%20Kannan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20Netherlands%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Technology%2FAssistive%20Technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204impact%2C%20ABN%20Amro%2C%20Impact%20Ventures%20and%20group%20of%20angels%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIXTURES (all times UAE)

Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)

Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

The Brutalist

Director: Brady Corbet

Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn

Rating: 3.5/5

While you're here
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.

Top 5 concerns globally:

1. Unemployment

2. Spread of infectious diseases

3. Fiscal crises

4. Cyber attacks

5. Profound social instability

Top 5 concerns in the Mena region

1. Energy price shock

2. Fiscal crises

3. Spread of infectious diseases

4. Unmanageable inflation

5. Cyber attacks

Source: World Economic Foundation

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City's slump

L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1

Updated: December 27, 2024, 6:03 AM`