Liverpool Routs Atalanta; Real Madrid and Bayern Munich Win

Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League match against Inter Milan at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP)
Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League match against Inter Milan at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP)
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Liverpool Routs Atalanta; Real Madrid and Bayern Munich Win

Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League match against Inter Milan at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP)
Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League match against Inter Milan at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP)

Jürgen Klopp has made no secret of his admiration for Atalanta’s all-out attacking game.

Perhaps because it’s similar to the way his Liverpool squad pours forward with speed and precision, often overwhelming its opponents.

In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, Klopp’s side was the one doing the overwhelming in a 5-0 rout of last season’s surprise quarterfinalist in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Portugal striker Diogo Jota scored a hat trick to take his tally to seven goals in 10 matches across all competitions since joining Liverpool in September.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané also found the net for the 2019 champion, which strengthened its control of Group D with a full nine points.

“I don’t think any system could have defended tonight Sadio, Mo and Diogo, the way they played,” Klopp said.

Elsewhere on the third match day of the group stage, 13-time champion Real Madrid beat visiting Inter Milan 3-2 in Group B for its first win in this season’s competition courtesy of a late goal from Rodrygo.

Defending champion Bayern Munich got late goals from Jérôme Boateng, Leroy Sané, Robert Lewandoski and Lucas Hernandez in a 6-2 win at Salzburg to preserve its perfect start in Group A.

Manchester City also stayed perfect with a 3-0 victory over Olympiakos in Group C with goals from Ferran Torres, Gabriel Jesus and João Cancelo.

In another rout, Borussia Mönchengladbach beat Shakhtar Donetsk 6-0 in Group B to match its biggest European Cup away win.

Ajax and Porto also won, while Lokomotiv Moscow and Atlético Madrid drew 1-1.

In all, there were 35 goals across the eight games — two shy of the record for one day.

Late flurry
Bayern Munich broke a deadlock with four late goals in its victory at Salzburg to extend its competition-record winning streak to 14 games.

Joshua Kimmich played a big role in keeping Bayern’s winning run intact with two assists.

Both teams observed a minute’s silence for the victims of an attack in Vienna on Monday.

In Moscow, Atlético opened the scoring with a header by José Maria Gimenez but Lokomotiv equalized with a penalty kick converted by Anton Miranchuk after video review determined there was a handball.

Bayern leads Group A with nine points, Atletico has four, Lokomotiv has two and Salzburg one.

Ramos’ century mark
Madrid captain Sergio Ramos scored his 100th goal across all competitions for the club — not bad for a center back.

The defender headed in to give Madrid a momentary 2-0 lead — his 55th goal scored by a header for his club.

Inter, which remained winless, could at least celebrate the night’s most beautiful goal, which featured Nicolò Barella’s flicked through ball to set up Lautaro Martinez’s finish in one swift motion.

The home win moved Madrid out of last place in Group B. Borussia Mönchengladbach leads the group with five points after its rout of Shakhtar, one more than Madrid and Shakhtar.

Inter remained with two points.

Assist man
Kevin De Bruyne set up two goals in City’s win over Olympiakos. That gave the Belgium midfielder 14 assists in the competition since the start of the 2017-18 season, one short of Kylian Mbappe’s competition-leading 15.

De Bruyne set City on its way by cushioning a pass through to Torres who took the ball on, had an extra touch, and drove a shot through the legs of the goalkeeper 12 minutes in.

De Bruyne, who also set up two goals in a 3-0 win at Marseille last week, then sent Jesus in toward the goal to virtually seal the game nine minutes from time.

City only requires a draw in the return match in Greece after the international break to secure progress to the knockout stage with two group games to spare.

City leads Group C with nine points, Porto is next with six, Olympiakos has three and Marseille has none.

Moussa Marega, Sergio Oliveira and Luiz Diaz scored in Porto's win over Marseille.

Virus return
Dusan Tadic scored one goal and set up another to lead Ajax to its win over Midtjylland, a day after being seemingly ruled out of the game by his coach after a positive test for the coronavirus.

Tadic was one of a raft of senior players — including goalkeeper André Onana and midfielders Davy Klaassen and Ryan Gravenberch — not included in a reduced 17-man group that travelled to central Denmark on Monday because of the positive tests. They did travel in a separate party that evening, though, and were allowed to play after supplying a negative test ahead of the match.

Tadic set up a goal for Antony after just 50 seconds with a neat touch and pass, then scored himself off an indirect free kick from the edge of the six-yard box in the 12th after Midtjylland goalkeeper Mikkel Andersen picked up a back-pass.

Anders Dreyer pulled one back for the Danish champions in the 18th minute.

Ajax moved into second place in Group D, above Atalanta on goal difference. They are five points behind Liverpool, with Midtjylland last with zero points.



Wimbledon Expansion Plan Set to Proceed after High Court Ruling

FILED - 29 June 2022, United Kingdom, London: Raindrops and the tournament logo can be seen on an umbrella during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Photo: Frank Molter/dpa
FILED - 29 June 2022, United Kingdom, London: Raindrops and the tournament logo can be seen on an umbrella during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Photo: Frank Molter/dpa
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Wimbledon Expansion Plan Set to Proceed after High Court Ruling

FILED - 29 June 2022, United Kingdom, London: Raindrops and the tournament logo can be seen on an umbrella during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Photo: Frank Molter/dpa
FILED - 29 June 2022, United Kingdom, London: Raindrops and the tournament logo can be seen on an umbrella during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Photo: Frank Molter/dpa

Wimbledon's controversial expansion plan is set to go ahead after a legal challenge against the decision to approve the proposal was dismissed by a High Court judge on Monday.

The 'Save Wimbledon Park' campaign group took action against the Greater London Authority's decision last year to grant a planning permission that would almost triple the size of the site for the grass-court Grand Slam.

The proposals would see the construction of 38 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the grounds of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club, which would allow it to host All England Club qualifiers on site instead of across south London at Roehampton.

The campaign group's barristers told the High Court earlier this month that the decision to approve the plans was "irrational" and should be quashed, as Wimbledon Park was covered by restrictions on how it could be used.

But Wimbledon chiefs defended the challenge, with the court told that the decision was a "planning judgement properly exercised" and that the restrictions were not "material".

In a ruling on Monday, Justice Saini dismissed the challenge, AFP reported.

"In short, the defendant's decision on the relevance of deliverability, applying to both the statutory trust and the restrictive covenants, was a planning judgement rationally exercised and having regard to appropriate and relevant factors," he said.

Planning permission for the scheme was initially granted by Jules Pipe, London's deputy mayor for planning, who said that the proposals "would facilitate very significant benefits" which "clearly outweigh the harm".

Following Monday's High Court ruling, the campaign group said it had been "advised that it should" seek to challenge the decision.

"SWP is not taking this step lightly but believes that the GLA did make a significant legal error in the way it dealt with the special legal status of the park," a statement said.

The latest edition of Wimbledon concluded on July 13, with Jannik Sinner winning the men's title and Iga Swiatek lifting the women's trophy.