Europe

LONDON — Goals from striker Ollie Watkins and captain John McGinn earned Aston Villa all three points in a pulsating 2-0 Premier League mid-table win at Chelsea on Saturday.

The result sent Villa into ninth in the table, leapfrogging Chelsea, who dropped into the bottom half.

Watkins took his chance in the 18th minute after a mistake from retreating defender Marc Cucurella, who headed a long ball into his path and he calmly lobbed his shot over advancing Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

New Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel couldn’t have asked for a better start to his new gig as Bayern obliterated Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in Der Klassiker on Saturday. A horrendous Gregor Kobel fail set the tone of the game in the 13th minute.

The massive error and whiff from the Dortmund keeper seemed to have deflated his side. Dayot Upamecano sent a long ball looking for the run of Leroy Sané when Kobel came out of his box attempting to clear it.

Kobel's attempted clearance turned into a disaster.

Brighton and Brentford shared the points on Saturday in an exhilarating 3-3 draw that saw the Gulls equalize three separate times. The back-and-forth affair also saw a rare set piece you don’t see too often: an indirect free kick in the penalty area.

In the 11th minute Brentford were awarded the indirect free kick after Brighton’s Pervis Estupiñán poked the ball back to Jason Steele who picked up the ball.

MANCHESTER — Manchester City showed they can win without goal machine Erling Haaland as they put four past Liverpool at the Etihad on Saturday to keep their chase of Premier League leaders Arsenal very much alive.

Julian Alvarez, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish were all on target for Pep Guardiola's side in a goal-packed return to Premier League action after the international break.

The victory puts City five points behind the Gunners, who play Leeds United later on Saturday.

With club soccer returning this weekend American fans might be asking questions like: Why is Pulisic not playing? Where’s Gio Reyna? 

Christian Pulisic will likely miss Chelsea’s Premier League game vs. Aston Villa on Saturday while Gio Reyna is set to sit out Borussia Dortmund’s massive Der Klassiker clash with Bayern Munich. Both American players are dealing with “severe colds.”

Christian Pulisic 'has a heavy cold' per Graham Potter and is likely to miss Chelsea's match against Aston Villa tomorrow.

MANCHESTER — Manchester City forward Erling Haaland is a doubt for Saturday's home game against Liverpool in the Premier League but may be risked, manager Pep Guardiola said, as his side maintain their chase of leaders Arsenal.

Haaland, who joined City this season from Borussia Dortmund, has scored 42 goals in 37 matches in all competitions, but suffered a groin injury against Burnley on March 18, and pulled out of Norway's squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers.

PARIS - Hervé Renard has been named France women's coach until 2024 and will lead the team at this year's World Cup, the French federation (FFF) said on Thursday.

The 54-year-old Frenchman resigned as coach of the Saudi Arabia men's team this week after leading them to last year's World Cup in Qatar where they pulled off a shock group-stage win over eventual champions Argentina.

BERLIN - New Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel needs a successful start after joining the German champions last week with his former team, Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund, in town for Der Klassiker on Saturday.

With the match being broadcast to 200 territories globally, all eyes will be on the former Paris St Germain and Chelsea coach who took over after Julian Nagelsmann's shock sacking days after Bayern's 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen on March 19.