A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
Liverpool's injury concerns have eased ahead of the final against Real Madrid in Paris, with midfielders Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara back in full training.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara could be fit for the Champions League final against Real Madrid despite missing training on Wednesday because of injury.
The Spain international came off with an Achilles tendon injury in the 3-1 win over Wolverhampton on Sunday but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the problem “was not that bad.”
If Liverpool’s first two journeys to the Champions League final under Jurgen Klopp were characterized by chaos, then the third — likely to be completed on Tuesday — ought to be defined by control.
And no one is bringing more control to this remarkable quadruple-chasing team than Thiago Alcantara.
NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — Liverpool kept its quadruple hopes alive with a 1-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday to maintain pressure on Premier League title rival Manchester City.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic dug deep for the second match in a row to reach the semifinals of the Serbia Open with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Miomir Kecmanovic on Thursday.
Kecmanovic won the opening set without facing a break point, but Djokovic finally showed signs of getting back to his best in the second and then won the final four games of the decider in what was just his sixth match of the year.
NEW YORK (AP) — Valentin Castellanos became New York City FC's first player with a four-goal game, and Real Salt Lake was sent to its worst margin of defeat in a Major League Soccer match with a 6-0 rout Sunday.
SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — Chelsea consigned Southampton to its latest humiliating defeat in the Premier League, with the 6-0 thrashing on Saturday proving good shooting practice ahead of a must-win Champions League in midweek.
SEATTLE (AP) — Albert Rusnák and Jordan Morris scored in the first half, Nicolás Lodeiro converted a penalty kick midway through the second half, and the Seattle Sounders beat New York City FC 3-1 on Wednesday night in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals.
LONDON (AP) — Liverpool reignited the Premier League title race and came within a point of the top spot with a 2-0 win over Arsenal on Wednesday after scoring two second-half goals to extend their winning streak to nine games.
Liverpool hasn’t been this close to Manchester City in three months.
The gap is down to one point in a Premier League title race that looks set to go down to the wire after Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Arsenal on Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Santiago Rodriguez delivered a pivotal goal in a 4-1 win for New York City FC over CF Montreal on Saturday.
Rodriguez's goal put NYCFC (1-1-1) ahead for good at 2-0 in the 20th minute.
A look at what’s happening in the Champions League on Tuesday:
LIVERPOOL vs INTER MILAN
So much has gone right for Liverpool since winning at Inter Milan 2-0 in their last-16 first leg. The English League Cup was won for a first domestic cup in a decade.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Thomas Hasal made four saves for his third career MLS shutout in the Vancouver Whitecaps' 0-0 tie with New York City FC on Saturday.
Hasal volleyed Thiago Andrade’s volley over the bar in the 89th minute.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Top-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy beat Brazil's Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 on Friday to advance to the quarterfinals of the rain-plagued Rio Open clay-court tournament.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Second-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway pulled out of the Rio Open clay-court tournament on Thursday with an abdominal injury.
Ruud told a news conference that he was still feeling the effects of an injury he picked up during Sunday's final of the Argentina Open, which he won.
BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Top-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway defeated Spain's Roberto Carballés Baena 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open.
Ruud, the 8th-best ranked tennis player in the circuit, will face local favorite Federico Coria, who earlier beat fifth-seeded Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
LONDON (AP) — Once Hakim Ziyech's curling, dipping strike landed in the Tottenham goal, Chelsea never looked back.
Sure, it took until two minutes into the second half to break the deadlock and the Moroccan was justified in ranking it “10 out of 10." But the space gifted for Thiago Silva's header from Mason Mount's free kick in the 55th minute to seal a 2-0 win on Sunday was a snapshot of this most lopsided of London rivalries.
LONDON (AP) — A superb strike from Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva’s headed goal gave Chelsea a 2-0 win over Tottenham to end a four-match winless run in the Premier League on Sunday.
Silva helped to protect parity before scoring, falling under a foul from Harry Kane in the first half to see the Tottenham striker's goal ruled out.
A growing coronavirus outbreak among players and staff led to Liverpool's English League Cup semifinal match against Arsenal being postponed, adding to the backlog in English football caused by the fast-spreading omicron variant.
A look at what’s happening in the English Premier League on Wednesday:
BRENTFORD vs. MANCHESTER CITY
City manager Pep Guardiola might be ready to recall Phil Foden and Jack Grealish to the team after leaving them out of the last two starting lineups for disciplinary reasons.
A look at what’s happening in the Premier League on Tuesday as teams look to negotiate their way through coronavirus cases and England's busy festive fixture schedule:
LONDON (AP) — A fluke goal by Arthur Masuaku in the 87th minute gave West Ham a 3-2 win over Chelsea on Saturday, a result that knocked the visitor off the top of the English Premier League.
Chelsea led twice through Thiago Silva's header and a sublime goal from Mason Mount, but West Ham came back both times with a penalty from Manuel Lanzini and Jarrod Bowen’s low shot from the edge of the area.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Sean Johnson saved Adam Buksa’s attempt during a shootout and all five of Johnson's teammates scored as New York City FC advanced to its first Eastern Conference final 5-3 on penalty kicks following a 2-2 playoff draw with the New England Revolution on Tuesday night.
LONDON (AP) — The cautious game plan, with Cristiano Ronaldo dropped to the bench, worked for Manchester United.
Hitting Chelsea on the counterattack, with Jadon Sancho scoring his first Premier League goal, and grabbing a point is the type of damage limitation-mode United is in this season.
LONDON (AP) — Ballon d’Or contender Jorginho made amends for an error leading to Manchester United's goal with an equalizing penalty for Chelsea in a 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Sunday.
Jorginho was around the halfway line when he failed to control Bruno Fernandes' hooked clearance from the edge of the United penalty area five minutes into the second half.