Match of the Day pundit Wayne Rooney believes Virgil Van Dijk’s disallowed goal against Manchester City should have stood, saying that Andy Robertson was not blocking Gianluigi Donnarumma’s vision or impeding his ability to try to make a save.
MATCH REPORT: Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool
Jeremy Doku was absolutely brilliant for Manchester City in their 3-0 win on Sunday, but Liverpool’s tactics were the reason he was able to run riot down their right.
Without Mohamed Salah tracking back, Arne Slot’s side were always so vulnerable down that flank and I felt sorry for Conor Bradley, who was trying to stop Doku but had Nico O’Reilly to worry about too.
Even if Liverpool had found some better balance, and had a winger who gave Bradley more defensive support or condensed City’s space, then with the way Doku was playing he would still have been almost impossible to stop.
Doku was a pleasure to watch, irrespective of who you support and who you wanted to win. You had to admire his skill, pace, strength and bravery – and his goal was just amazing.
The way Liverpool were set up, though, actually helped him shine.
He was electric and the game’s star man. This was the best I’ve seen him play in a City shirt, but Salah not being asked to defend made it so easy for him.
I am really surprised Liverpool’s potential problem down the right was not identified before the game.
Since he broke into the team a year ago, O’Reilly has been a real positive for City from an attacking perspective and frequently ends up in left wing or even centre-forward areas.
So City were always going to look for an overload from him and Doku down that flank, and it was down to Liverpool to deal with it.
As I explained on Match of the Day, Bradley was caught in between both players a lot because he was unsure what to do, but whatever he did it felt like there was always so much space over there for City to exploit.
It was hard for Ryan Gravenberch to do much about it, because if he went out there too early he was only leaving space centrally instead, where the likes of Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki were looking for pockets to get on the ball.
Liverpool ended up being pulled part and, like I say, they must have been aware it could happen before the game.
The best opposition, with the best players, find your weakness. Chelsea deliberately targeted Liverpool down the right in the same way a few weeks ago, because they knew the problem with Salah existed – but Sunday turned into an even bigger expose of the issue.
A lot of people will say that Liverpool have had success for years without Salah tracking back.
While Salah did defend more under Jurgen Klopp, he spoke last season about not being given so much defensive responsibility by Slot and how much he was enjoying that. Let’s remember Liverpool won the title with him playing that way.
But there’s a difference between never doing it and sometimes doing it. Last season, when Liverpool won at Etihad Stadium, Salah’s defensive performance was among the best I’ve seen from him.
This time, I think it was maybe down to him to look at how Bradley was having a tough time and decide ‘I am going to help him out’, even if it was just for 15 minutes or half an hour, to help Liverpool get back in the game.
I am not saying Salah should now become a completely different player – you don’t want him running back every time you lose the ball, because sometimes you want him ready for the transition where O’Reilly is out of position. Salah almost got in a few times like that on Sunday, because of his pace, but there has to be balance.
That failure to try to fix things during the game was another disappointing part of Liverpool’s display, but there were plenty of other things that must have concerned Slot too.
Especially in the first half, they did not press particularly well. They lacked tenacity without the ball and seemed slow when they were in possession. In both areas, they were well below the level we saw in their previous two games against Aston Villa and Real Madrid.
Now, of course they played a huge game on Tuesday against Real, one of the best teams in Europe, and put every bit of effort in to get a positive result.
If Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser against City had been allowed to stand then I suppose things might have been different – Liverpool had started really poorly but moments like that can change momentum in games.
This result meant a good week for Slot ended badly, especially regarding the Premier League title race.
The defeat is not quite as damaging as it could have been, because leaders Arsenal drew on Saturday and dropped points.
But Liverpool are still eight points behind the Gunners and the biggest observation for me so far this season is that they are not consistently playing well enough to be able to think they can close that gap.
This is a challenging time for Slot and his players but it is so early in the campaign, and there is plenty of time for them to bounce back and find some balance and rhythm, and cut out the mistakes.
At the moment, though, all that feels like it is a long way off.
City were not just the better team on Sunday who created the better chances, they were dominant for most of the game. Since their blip in August when they lost back-to-back games, they have looked really strong.
At the moment Pep Guardiola’s side are the ones who look most likely to compete with Arsenal for the title, while Liverpool need to find a way of becoming harder to beat.
Two pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians have been accused of taking bribes to rig pitches they threw at Major League Baseball games.
The pitchers, Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz and Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera, have been charged in connection to the sports betting and money laundering scheme, federal prosecutors and the FBI announced on Sunday.
Prosecutors allege that the scheme drew hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal wagers.
The indictment alleges that Mr Ortiz and Mr Clase co-ordinated in advance with co-conspirators, allowing the co-conspirators and sometimes themselves, to place hundreds of fraudulent bets at online sportsbooks.
Prosecutors say Mr Clase, who they allege joined the scheme around May 2023, and Mr Ortiz, who they allege joined around June 2025, each received kickbacks or bribes from the bettors in exchange for the advanced information.
For example, before a game on 27 June 2025, bettors paid Mr Ortiz $7,000 to throw a rigged pitch and paid Mr Clase the same amount for arranging the rigged pitch, prosecutors allege. Prior to the game, Mr Clase took out $50,000 in cash and gave $15,000 to a co-conspirator who used it to bet on the pitch, the indictment alleges.
“The defendants deprived the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball of their honest services. They defrauded the online betting platforms where the bets were placed,” US Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr, alleged in a press release.
“When corruption infiltrates the sport, it brings disgrace not only to the participants but damages the public trust in an institution that is vital and dear to all of us,” Mr Nocella added.
Mr Ortiz was arrested in Boston on Sunday, and Mr Clase is not currently in US custody, authorities said.
Both players had been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave over the summer while during an MLB investigation involving sports gambling.
The two have been charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy.
In a statement, the Cleveland Guardians said it is fully cooperating with law enforcement and the league in their probes.
Luis Ortiz’s lawyer, Chris Georgalis, told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that his client “is innocent of the charges related to two pitches he threw”.
“He has never, and would never, improperly influence a game—not for anyone and not for anything,” Mr Georgalis told CBS.
The BBC has also contacted Mr Clase’s representative, Kelvin Nova.
While the investigation into Mr Clase was still ongoing prior to the indictments, Mr Nova told Cleveland.com that his client “told me he doesn’t bet”.
Both
World number one Luke Humphries hit a nine-dart finish to beat Michael Smith 5-3 at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.
Humphries struggled on the doubles in the first few legs but then hit a 139 checkout to kick into form.
With perfect timing, he then found a perfect leg at 4-3 up to clinch victory in style with his second televised nine-darter, making it two wins from two matches so far in the group stage.
Reigning champion Luke Littler was in ruthless form as he continued his campaign with a 5-3 win over Connor Scutt.
Littler averaged 105 and hit three 180s as he swept past Scutt to also make it two wins from two and earn qualification to the knockout stage.
Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen was out of sorts and beaten 5-4 by Germany’s Niko Springer, with the Dutchman missing 15 darts at double.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Gerwyn Price whitewashed James Wade, and Stephen Bunting lost a deciding leg to Martin Schindler, while Gary Anderson was a 5-4 winner against Beau Greaves.
Nathan Aspinall 5-2 Alex Spellman
Luke Humphries 5-3 Michael Smith
Martin Lukeman 4-5 Jurjen van der Velde
Chris Dobey 5-1 Damon Heta
Stephen Bunting 4-5 Martin Schindler
Luke Woodhouse 5-2 Alexis Toylo
James Wade 0-5 Gerwyn Price
Ricky Evans 5-4 Stefan Bellmont
Daryl Gurney 3-5 Karel Sedlacek
Luke Littler 5-3 Connor Scutt
Josh Rock 5-0 Lisa Ashton
Glan van Veen 5-3 Wessel Nijman
Gary Anderson 5-4 Beau Greaves
Michael van Gerwen 4-5 Niko Springer
Jonny Clayton 3-5 Lukas Wenig
Lando Norris was asked after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix whether he was now thinking about the championship, having extended his lead in one weekend from one point to nearly a clear win.
“Not at all,” he said.
Even if that’s true, even if that’s what he’s trying to do, he can’t not be, deep down.
The Briton’s second victory in succession moves him 24 points clear of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen – despite producing at Interlagos probably the drive of the season – is 49 adrift.
There is a maximum of 83 points available over the remaining three races. It is not won yet, but Norris is in total control of the championship heading to the next race in Las Vegas from 20-22 November.
Between Norris and Piastri, the season has flipped on its head in the space of just seven races spanning a little over two months.
Piastri left the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, the first race after F1’s summer break, with a 34-point lead, after his seventh victory of the season and Norris’ retirement.
The Australian looked an odds-on title favourite at that point. He had been solidity personified since the start of the year, and unquestionably the leading McLaren driver to that point of the season.
But Piastri’s season has simply fallen apart, and Norris has got better and better.
Over those seven grands prix, including two sprints, the swing in Norris’ favour has been a remarkable 58 points.
Brazil was a champion’s weekend from Norris. Flawless, he took pole and the victory in both the sprint and the grand prix, and never looked like doing anything else.
So his remarks after the race have to be seen for what they are – the sort of thing every sportsperson says when they know what’s possible, but they also know that the best way to achieve it is to ignore the ambition, and think only of the method of getting them to it.
“It’s a great win,” Norris said, “but to be honest, seeing how quick Max was today, I’m pretty disappointed we weren’t quicker. So that’s where my mind is at the minute – probably going to see the team, congratulate them and see where we weren’t quick enough.
“But that’s me. And we’ll see what we can do. Obviously, not a long way to go, but it can change so quickly, like we’ve seen today already. So just focus on myself, keep my head down, ignore everyone and keep pushing.”
One statistic stands out from this weekend for Norris. This was his seventh win of the season, in the 21st grand prix. That it has taken him this long to equal the victory tally Piastri had after 15 says a lot about how the season has changed.
On Saturday, after sprint victory moved him into a nine-point championship lead, Norris spoke of having lessened his weaknesses.
He was unquestionably the leading McLaren driver last year, but struggled with the car in the first part of the season. Intense, focused work from driver and team on making him more comfortable slowly began to pay off through the summer and into the autumn, and now he is living up to the status with which he started the season – favourite – but lost in those difficult early races.
“I care a lot about people’s perspectives and how I’m portrayed and things in the media,” he said on Sunday. “I probably cared too much. Even at the beginning of the year, I think I cared too much, and probably it was affecting me in not the best ways.
“I’ve just learned to deal with those things better. Not by not caring, because I still always want to have a good impression. I never want to be rude or do those things.
For his team-mate, Sao Paulo was the latest in a series of chastening experiences.
Piastri’s crash out of third place in the sprint race not only handed Norris the championship lead on a plate, but was also his sixth significant error in five grands prix, to add to the three crashes and a jumped start he had in Baku in September, and his responsibility for the crash at the start of the sprint in Austin that took out both McLaren drivers.
Looking to make amends in the grand prix, he made a bold passing move on Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc into Turn One at the restart after an early safety car. It ended with a collision with Antonelli, which bounced the Italian into Leclerc, whose car was terminally damaged.
Many – including Leclerc – felt Antonelli bore at least some responsibility for the incident.
Piastri had been fully alongside approaching the corner, but had to brake earlier on the inside line. He had a lock-up, but was under control and at the apex when Antonelli turned in.
Leclerc said: “Oscar was optimistic, but Kimi knew that Oscar was on the inside, I think, and he kind of did the corner like Oscar was never there. For me, the blame is not all on Oscar.” Piastri felt the same.
But the stewards disagreed, put the blame entirely on Piastri, and he was hit with a 10-second penalty, from which he recovered to finish fifth.
“The decision today I’m already pretty at peace with,” he said. “It kind of is what it is.”
As for the championship, Piastri says he is more concerned about his general performance levels. Brazil was better than Mexico, where he was badly off the pace. But he still never looked a threat to Norris.
“Just try and get the most out of (the rest of the season) as I can,” he said. “The penalty was one thing but I don’t think the pace was at a level I wanted it to be.
If the championship had not taken such a decisive turn, the person in the spotlight after Brazil would have been Verstappen. Even in the circumstances, the Dutchman shone brightest of all, with one of the performances of his career.
A year ago at this race, Verstappen put himself on the brink of a fourth world title with a quite brilliant comeback drive from 17th on the grid to win.
It was one of the all-time great drives, but it was in the wet, when these sorts of things are more possible.
On Sunday, in a dry race, Verstappen finished third after starting from the pit lane. Right on the gearbox of Antonelli’s Mercedes, the car in second.
And he did it despite a puncture on the sixth lap that forced an early pit stop that dropped him from the 13th place he had by then recovered to, right to the back.
“Incredible,” was the word Verstappen used to describe it. “He did an amazing job,” said Antonelli. “Sensational,” added Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies.
What was all the more remarkable was that Red Bull had lacked pace all weekend. Verstappen finished the sprint fourth, complaining of a lack of grip. It would have been fifth had it not been for Piastri’s crash.
And for the grand prix, Verstappen qualified only 16th, the first time in his entire career he had been knocked out in the first part of qualifying on pace.
Realising changes they had made to the car for qualifying had gone the wrong way, Red Bull chose to modify the set-up for the race. They stuck with the decision to abandon the new floor introduced in Mexico, but made a bunch of other tweaks, including fitting a new engine.
This breaks the rules that say teams cannot change the car’s set-up once qualifying has started; hence the pit lane start.
In a way, although the puncture put him to the back again after he had made up six places over the three racing laps that had been possible up to that point in between a real safety car and a virtual one, it did him a favour in that it got him off the hard tyre and on to the favoured medium.
Once the race was properly under way, he began to pick his way through the field, to the extent that by the time Norris made his final stop on lap 54, with 17 to go, the person who inherited the lead was Verstappen.
“Not bad,” he said over the radio when his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase informed him of this.
It looked like he might stay out – and try to defend the lead – and in fact some rival engineers believe he should have done. That he could even have won had Red Bull committed early to two stints on the medium from that first stop and Verstappen managed his tyres accordingly.
But Mekies disagreed, saying: “I don’t think there was any way we could have got the P1 if you just look at it.”
And so did McLaren team principal Andrea Stella: “The level of degradation was very high, and at some stage I think the tyres just ran out of rubber,” he said.
The question is entertaining, on an academic level, but also largely immaterial, and should not detract from the scale of Verstappen’s achievement.
The prize was not as glittering, so the drive probably won’t get the same attention, but as Mekies pointed out: “It was as sensational as last year to bring it to P3 from the pit lane on a dry, relatively uneventful race.”
As for the championship, Verstappen needs some kind of a miracle now that he is 49 points adrift with such a short run to the end of the season.
“We didn’t lose the championship here or whatever,” he said. “We lost the championship from race one ’til Zandvoort. We had a lot of weekends where we simply were not quick enough. Then, of course, you have a big gap. Then we had good moments where you get some points back, but not enough. That’s how the season goes.
Actress and Golden Globe winner Sally Kirkland has been rushed to a hospital in Palm Springs, Southern California.
Sally was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for her role in the 1987 comedy-drama “Anna.” Since then, she has appeared in several hit projects including Revenge, Big Stan and The Sting.
Sally last graced the big screen in 2024, when she appeared in Sallywood, a movie based on a true story about a writer obsessed with meeting her.
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The award-winning actress, 84, is allegedly in hospice after a year-long battle with dementia and ‘life-threatening infections.’ According to TMZ, her friend and former student Cody Galloway is by her side, with her representative Michael Greene on the way from the East Coast.
Her friends organised a GoFundMe page to support her urgent care expenses. The fundraiser reads: “As a result today, she finds herself facing a significant health crisis—one that has not only affected her well-being but also requires urgent and quality medical care that she can no longer afford.”
It adds: “This past year Sally fractured her four bones in her neck, right wrist, and her left hip. While recovering she developed two separate life-threatening infections. The combination of these injuries and infections have required extensive hospitalizations and rehab beyond the 100 days insurance will cover.”
It continues: “We are humbly asking for your support, in any amount you can offer, to ensure she gets the treatment she needs at this crucial time in her health journey. Every donation, no matter the size, will help bring her one step closer to recovery and, we hope, back to doing what she loves most—acting.”
In the latest update on the page from November 7 a message read: “Thank you for all your love and support. Sally is grateful for your kindness and love. Sally is on hospice now and is resting comfortably. Please hold and send the light for Sally.”
The page has so far raised over $56,000 of the $65,000 target.