Liverpool defeat Sunderland 4-2 in friendly in Nashville When Gomez went down, central defence formed by two teenagers The Andoni Iraola era at Liverpool opened with a victory over Sunderland in Nashville – and a deepening of concerns over the defensive options at his disposal. The sight of Joe Gomez hobbling off after 10 minutes of the new head coach’s first game and two teenagers forming a raw central defence partnership in his absence intensified the spotlight on a department in need of work. Liverpool had few issues at the other end of the pitch against Regis Le Bris’s side, resplendent in pink in Tennessee, where second half finishes from Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa and Lewis Koumas delivered an ultimately comfortable win. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/cBsWRNj via IFTTT
To the sound of a lone bird chirping, the crash-bang wallop ultimately belonged to the underdog in a blockbuster Australian Open final The sprinkling rain at Melbourne Park meant the roof stayed closed on centre court for the Australian Open women’s final , turning Rod Laver Arena into a concert hall charged with the music of tennis. But there was one noise that wasn’t quite right. In the sacred moments before each player’s serving motion, the crowd generally obeyed the protocol demanding silence. However, a single bird – perched somewhere high in the rafters – was less compliant. It must not have been able to escape before the roof shut on Saturday afternoon, and so there it stayed. Tweet-tweet. An unusual accompaniment to a grand slam final. No one could see the critter, though long they tried, as dozens of the 15,000-strong crowd craned their necks in curiosity. Even the umpire kept glancing up, only to recognise the limit of even his broad powers. Tweet-tweet. Continue reading.....