Football: Liverpool back on top as United go fourth

LONDON -- Liverpool returned to winning ways and the top of the Premier League table while Manchester United climbed into fourth place on Saturday as English football paid tribute to the late Emiliano Sala.

First-half goals from Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum together with Mohamed Salah's 48th-minute effort saw Liverpool to a 3-0 win over Bournemouth at Anfield.

Victory meant Liverpool, who had been second on goal difference, leapfrogged Manchester City by three points ahead of the reigning champions' match at home to Chelsea on Sunday.

Meanwhile United's revival under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continued with an equally comfortable 3-0 win away to Fulham.

Liverpool had dropped points in successive 1-1 draws against Leicester and West Ham, sparking suggestions they were losing their nerve in a quest to end the club's 29-year wait to be crowned champions of England once again.

- 'Convincing' Liverpool -

Mane, however, eased the pressure with an early headed goal at Anfield.

Liverpool doubled their lead through Wijnaldum's 34th-minute lob before Salah's curling shot sealed victory.

"We knew we were not happy with our performance in the last two or three games," said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. "We want to play convincing football we want to perform."

In London, Paul Pogba scored two goals -- including a second-half penalty -- either side of an Anthony Martial strike as United made it 10 wins in 11 game since former striker Solskjaer was put in temporary command.

Chelsea could regain a spot among the Champions League qualifying places against Manchester City.

But United, 11 points adrift of the top four when Jose Mourinho was sacked in December, are back in the hunt now.

"There are so many games left, but we hope to stay in the top four," said Solskjaer.

Arsenal inflicted more misery on Huddersfield with a 2-1 win away to the bottom-of-the-table club.

Alex Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal 2-0 up before half-time, with Sead Kolasinac's own-goal too late for the Terriers.

Elsewhere under-pressure Everton manager Marco Silva's return to Watford ended in a 1-0 defeat thanks to an Andre Gray goal.

Everton's loss was compounded when Kurt Zouma was sent off after the final whistle for complaining to referee Lee Probert.

- Cardiff win as they mourn Sala -

An emotional week for Cardiff ended with a dramatic 2-1 win away to Southampton that saw them climb out of the relegation zone just days after the death of transfer-window signing Sala was confirmed without him having played a game for the Welsh club.

The Argentinian's body was formally identified by an English coroner on Thursday, a day after it was recovered from underwater aeroplane wreckage in the Channel.

Cardiff wore special shirts embroidered with a yellow daffodil, the national emblem of Wales and the team colour of French side Nantes, Sala's former club, with a minute's silence observed prior to kick-off.

Bluebirds captain Sol Bamba's second-half volley gave Cardiff the lead only for Jack Stephens to equalise in stoppage-time.

But there was still time for Kenneth Zohore to score a 93rd-minute winner at St Mary's Stadium.

"It's been a tough couple of weeks," said Bamba. "I know Emiliano Sala was looking from up there so it's good to get the three points."

Burnley were in the relegation zone after Cardiff's win.

But they moved three points clear in a 3-1 late kick-off win at Brighton, Chris Wood scoring twice as Southampton were left in the bottom three.

"It's always tough coming here and we showed we can fight and grind it out," said Wood.

"It's a big win at this stage of the season," he added.

London rivals Crystal Palace and West Ham drew 1-1, with Hammers captain Mark Noble scoring with a first-half penalty before Eagles striker Wilfried Zaha marked his return from suspension with an equaliser 14 minutes from time at Selhurst Park.

Third-placed Tottenham welcome Leicester to Wembley on Sunday, with in-form Wolves at home to Newcastle on Monday.


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Liverpool and Man Utd deliver poor 0-0 draw after the hype

One of the most eagerly-awaited clashes of the Premier League season turned into a major letdown as Liverpool and Manchester United nullified each other in a largely undistinguished goalless draw at Anfield on Monday.

After all the hype preceding the battle between English football's fiercest rivals, United's manager Jose Mourinho was left happier than his counterpart Juergen Klopp as the visitors doused Liverpool's acclaimed attacking pyrotechnics.

The home side, full of goals all season, proved desperately disappointing until finding some second-half drive and may have still felt they deserved the win as United goalkeeper David de Gea had to make fine saves from Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho.

Mourinho, the master of stifling Anfield dreams when at Chelsea, again found his tactical mastery rewarded but United, seventh in the table on 14 points, have still won just one of their last five league games while Liverpool stay fourth on 17, two behind leaders Manchester City and Arsenal.

The Portuguese sounded particularly satisfied as he suggested United's ability to keep a clean sheet against their hosts had shown "they (Liverpool) are not the last wonder of the world like you like to say they are".

Klopp, though, talked of "mixed feelings", admitting it had been a poor spectacle.

"I am not frustrated but I am not happy with the performance. No one will show this game in 10 or 20 years but we could have played better.

"We get a point. It doesn't feel like the best thing but it is what we got."

His usually whirlwind Liverpool were effectively subdued in the first half as Mourinho reverted to conservative type, bringing in Marouane Fellaini to partner Ander Herrera in a stifling central midfield combination.

Throwing men behind the ball and taking the voice out of the passionate home crowd, United controlled most of the play in the opening half-hour even if a 40-metre Zlatan Ibrahimovic free kick blasted into row Z was their lowest of highlights.

Liverpool, without the injured Georginio Wijnaldum and forced to leave Adam Lallana on the bench, never got going, with Daniel Sturridge proving disappointing, and they looked nervous in front of their fevered fans.

It took them more than half an hour before a Roberto Firmino header straight at De Gea represented their first attempt on goal.

It was only after the break that they began to show glimpses of their true colours, Can wriggling through to force a fine one-handed save from De Gea at full stretch before the Spanish keeper delivered an even finer stop, flying through the air to tip Coutinho's curler wide.

A brilliant last-gasp challenge by Antonio Valencia deprived Firmino but United, for all their solidity, had only one effort on target and looked back ruefully on their best chance, a tame header across goal from Ibrahimovic after a great delivery from Paul Pogba.

(Reporting by Ian Chadband; Editing by Clare Fallon)

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Brazil blunders again to hand Dutch third place

BRASILIA - Brazil signed off from their home World Cup to a cacophony of boos on Saturday as the defensive errors that crushed their bid for a sixth title resurfaced in a shoddy 3-0 loss to the Netherlands in the third-place playoff match.

Robin van Persie, Daley Blind and Georginio Wijnaldum scored the goals for the Dutch but all three were assisted by the battered Brazilians, who suffered back-to-back defeats on home soil for the first time since 1940.

It was another hammer blow to a team still clearly feeling the effects of Tuesday's 7-1 semi-final thrashing by Germany, a record World Cup defeat for the hosts and one of the most extraordinary results in the history of the sport.

"I don't think we deserved for it to end like this," captain Thiago Silva said in a televised interview.

"We need to apologise to the fans, they booed us at the end, which is normal, they have feelings too. It's very tough."

Silva was one of six changes made by under-fire coach Luiz Felipe Scolari in a bid to fix a frail backline but the skipper gave away a penalty after 90 seconds as the Dutch ripped through their rearguard.

Scolari's loyal captain was fortunate to only receive a yellow card from Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi for pulling back winger Arjen Robben who was put clean through on goal by Van Persie.

The centre back was clearly the last man, although the offence appeared to occur just outside the penalty area.

Van Persie stepped up to rifle the penalty high into the net to score the Netherlands' first goal since the last 16 as the Brasilia national stadium was left in near-silence by the whirlwind start.

NEGATIVE VOICES

The home fans found their negative voices shortly after as Thiago Silva's defensive partner David Luiz under no pressure sent a header straight to Daley Blind, who took two touches near the penalty spot before firing home in the 16th minute.

It was the ninth goal Brazil had conceded in 95 traumatic minutes and the anger again came pouring down from the terraces, with boos ringing out at the hosts' shambolic efforts.

Scolari, who will report to the Brazilian Football Confederation before deciding on his future, made changes at the interval as Brazil tried to fashion a way back into the game but they only found more misery.

Frustrations boiled over in a series of rash challenges with substitute Fernandinho particularly guilty.

Oscar followed his team mate into the book as he became the first player at the tournament to be shown a yellow card for diving when he appealed for a penalty with 20 minutes left.

All the while, the Dutch, who were forced into a late switch to their lineup when midfielder Wesley Sneijder was injured in the warm-up, threatened more goals on the counter and their play drew applause from the appreciative home crowd.

Showing no ill effects from their heartbreaking loss to Argentina in a penalty shootout on Wednesday, the Dutch poured forward in the closing stages and were rewarded with a late third in stoppage time from Wijnaldum.

The midfielder, afforded far too much room by the Brazil defence, turned in Daryl Janmaat's cross from the right.

The result meant they became the first netherlands side to complete a World Cup undefeated in normal and extra time as Louis Van Gaal signed off from his final match in charge before taking over as coach of Manchester United with a victory.

"And as far as the tournament is concerned 15 goals in seven matches and four conceded, I think we can look back on a very successful tournament and I am proud of my players and my staff," he said. (Editing by Ken Ferris)

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