Game Recaps

It was only a matter of time before Mohamed Salah found the back of the net for Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Liverpool star hardly had a sight of goal in Egypt’s opener against Nigeria. He still had few opportunities in front of his opponent’s goal on Saturday, but Salah was the man to make the breakthrough as he and his side defeated Guinea-Bissau 1-0.

BIRMINGHAM — Aston Villa debutant Philippe Coutinho came off the bench to inspire a thrilling comeback in a gripping 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday.

United appeared to be on course for a second win of the week against Steven Gerrard's side as Bruno Fernandes struck in each half - the first goal courtesy of a dreadful error by Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Here's the goal that gave Manchester United their 1-0 lead over Aston Villa.

COLOGNE — Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski got a hat trick to make it 300 Bundesliga career goals as he steered them to a 4-0 win at Cologne on Saturday that restored a six-point lead at the top.

The Bavarians, chasing a record-extending 10th consecutive league title, bounced back from last week's loss to Borussia Moenchengladbach and have 46 points from 19 games with Dortmund in second place on 40.

Barring a Manchester City disaster, the 2021-22 Premier League title race appears all but sorted as City defeated second-place Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday. The victory was City’s 12th straight in the league as the defending champions look set to win a fourth Premier League title in the last five seasons.

Despite the close score Manchester City looked the clear favorite throughout the 90 minutes. I apologize to my fellow Americans, but the attack force of Christian Pulisic, Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech was as dangerous as a dandelion.

A player on the losing team receiving the Man of the Match award rarely happens in soccer. Despite the rarity of the situation, it was the only possible outcome after Friday’s AFCON game between Morocco and Comoros. Salim Ben Boina, the 30-year-old Comoros goalkeeper, had one of the most spectacular performances AFCON has seen during his side’s 2-0 defeat.

Morocco should have won Friday’s group stage game by a minimum of 6-0, however Boina consistently produced miracle saves to keep his country — ranked No. 132 in the world and competing in its first ever AFCON — in the game.

There is truly nothing like the Africa Cup of Nations, and this year’s edition is no different.

These days, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before Granit Xhaka does something reckless to cost Arsenal a match. For once, he did something rash and it didn’t cost Arsenal.

With some inspired defending and a bit of luck, Arsenal held on for a 0-0 draw with Liverpool in the first leg of the Carabao Cup on Thursday at Anfield. The tie felt more like a win after Xhaka was sent off in the 24th minute, forcing the Gunners to play a man down for more than an hour.