Salah Scores on Return as Liverpool Dispatches Brentford

Soccer Football - Premier League - Brentford v Liverpool - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - February 17, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their third goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Soccer Football - Premier League - Brentford v Liverpool - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - February 17, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their third goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
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Salah Scores on Return as Liverpool Dispatches Brentford

Soccer Football - Premier League - Brentford v Liverpool - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - February 17, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their third goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Soccer Football - Premier League - Brentford v Liverpool - Brentford Community Stadium, London, Britain - February 17, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their third goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers

Mohamed Salah made a scoring return for Liverpool as the English Premier League leader dispatched Brentford 4-1 on Saturday.
Salah had been out for a month since sustaining a hamstring injury at the Africa Cup of Nations. He came on as a substitute just before halftime at Gtech Community Stadium and struck his 19th goal of the season in all competitions in the 68th minute.
Liverpool already led 2-0 at that point, after Darwin Nunez opened the scoring in the 35th and Alexis Mac Allister added another from Salah's assist.
Ivan Toney pulled a goal back for Brentford in the 75th, scoring for the fourth time in five games since returning from an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules.
But substitute Cody Gakpo sealed the win for Liverpool, The Associated Press reported.
While their title challenge remains in good shape, there was concern after new injuries to Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota in the first half. Jota had to leave the field on a stretcher.
Liverpool was already without the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara and Dominik Szoboszlai, while goalkeeper Alisson was also hurt in training on Friday and missed the game against Brentford.



Sinner, Djokovic in Opposite Halves at Australian Open, Sabalenka vs Stephens in 1st Round

09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa
09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa
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Sinner, Djokovic in Opposite Halves at Australian Open, Sabalenka vs Stephens in 1st Round

09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa
09 January 2025, Australia, Melbourne: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner pose with Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the draw for the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament, at Melbourne Park, Melbourne. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP/dpa

Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic have landed in opposite sides of the draw for the season’s first major, ruling out a replay of last year’s semifinal match.
Sinner upset Djokovic in the semifinals at the Australian Open last year before coming back to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 for his first Grand Slam singles title.
Top-ranked Sinner has a first-round match against Nicolas Jarry and also has Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Medvedev in his quarter of the draw. Fritz will open against fellow American Jenson Brooksby.
Djokovic and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the quarterfinals, with a possible semifinal against No. 2 Alexander Zverev.
At the draw Thursday to set the brackets for the singles fields, defending champions Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka walked into the official ceremony holding thei trophies.
Sabalenka won her second consecutive title at Melbourne Park in 2024 by defeating Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Sabalenka will be attempting to win a third consecutive women’s singles title at Melbourne Park, something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
Sabalenka drew a tough opening match against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and has 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and Zheng in her section.
“I have a lot of great memories and to be back here ... as a two-time Australian Open champion, it’s definitely something special,” Sabalenka, who won the Brisbane International title last week, said at the draw ceremony. “I hope that I can keep doing what I’m doing here in Australia.”
Third-seeded Coco Gauff is a potential semifinal rival for Sabalenka. Gauff has a challenging first-round match against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and is in the same section of the draw as seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula.
The Australian Open starts Sunday morning in Melbourne (Saturday night EST) and will run for 15 days.
Djokovic will be playing in his first event alongside new coach Andy Murray, his former on-court rival and a three-time major champion. Nobody has won the men's title at Melbourne Park more often than Djokovic, although he said he still feels trauma from the one year he wasn’t allowed to play.
Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who withdrew from an exhibition against Djokovic this week because of an abdominal strain, will face Jacob Fearnley in the first round if the mercurial Australian is fit enough to contest his first major since the 2022 US Open. Kyrgios is in the same section as Zverev.