Salah Double Leads Liverpool to Win at Bournemouth after Forest Enjoys 7-0 Rout

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the 0-2 goal during the English Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool in Bournemouth, Britain, 01 February 2025. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the 0-2 goal during the English Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool in Bournemouth, Britain, 01 February 2025. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY
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Salah Double Leads Liverpool to Win at Bournemouth after Forest Enjoys 7-0 Rout

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the 0-2 goal during the English Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool in Bournemouth, Britain, 01 February 2025. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the 0-2 goal during the English Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool in Bournemouth, Britain, 01 February 2025. EPA/DANIEL HAMBURY

Mohamed Salah’s double helped Liverpool pass another huge test of its Premier League title credentials with a 2-0 win at in-form Bournemouth on Saturday, after high-flying rival Nottingham Forest made a statement of its own in a record 7-0 rout.
Salah moved above Chelsea great Frank Lampard to No. 6 on the all-time Premier League scoring chart, on 178 goals, by converting a 30th-minute penalty and curling in a beautiful second in the 75th, The Associated Press reported.
The Egypt forward now has 21 goals in what could be his last Premier League campaign with Liverpool, with whom his contract is up at the end of the season. It's the fifth time he has netted 20 or more league goals in a single season for the club.
It ended Bournemouth’s 11-match unbeaten run in the league and left Liverpool with a nine-point lead over second-place Arsenal and third-place Forest, which bounced back from a 5-0 loss last weekend — also at Bournemouth — by demolishing Brighton for its heaviest victory in the Premier League era.
Chris Wood scored a hat trick for Forest, which is course to qualify for a European competition next season — potentially even the Champions League by securing a finish in the top four or five.
Arsenal hosts Manchester City on Sunday and will look to trim the gap to Liverpool back down to six points.
Record Premier League win for Forest Wood, a 33-year-old New Zealand international enjoying the most prolific Premier League season of his career, took his tally to 17 goals with his hat trick and is only behind Salah (21) and Man City’s Erling Haaland (18) in the race for the Golden Boot.
Morgan Gibbs-White, Neco Williams and Jota Silva also scored after an own-goal by Lewis Dunk set the ball rolling at the City Ground for third-place Forest, which is the surprise of the Premier League this season and moved level on 47 points with Arsenal.
“What a difference a week can make,” Wood said, referring to Forest's heavy loss at Bournemouth. “Last week wasn't us. Today was definitely us.”
Forest battled to avoid relegation last season but now has a great chance of qualifying for the Champions League, which would put the club back in Europe’s elite — where it was a generation ago when winning the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.
Doucoure scores after just 10 seconds Abdoulaye Doucoure scored the fourth-fastest goal in Premier League history — after just 10.18 seconds, according to the competition's statistic supplier, Opta — to set Everton on course for a 4-0 win over Leicester.
From the kickoff, the ball went back to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who launched a long clearance toward the Leicester area and directly into the path of Doucoure. The midfielder surged into the area and slotted home.
It was the earliest Everton has ever scored in the Premier League, the fourth-fastest goal in the competition’s history, and the quickest ever by a home player
Beto, a striker filling in for the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin, scored twice in the first half and Iliman Ndiaye added a late fourth to complete a third straight win for recently hired Everton manager David Moyes, who is enjoying a fine start to his second spell in charge.
Leicester was coming off a win at Tottenham that had eased the pressure on manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Fulham came from behind to beat Newcastle 2-1 away, while last-place Southampton won by the same score at Ipswich for just a second victory of the league campaign.
Aston Villa, linked with a move for Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford, visits Wolverhampton later.



Messi Suffers Muscle Strain, Miami Reschedule Preseason Finale

Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi waves to supporters before a friendly soccer match between Inter Miami and Atlético Nacional at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellín, Colombia, 31 January 2026. EPA/Carlos Ortega
Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi waves to supporters before a friendly soccer match between Inter Miami and Atlético Nacional at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellín, Colombia, 31 January 2026. EPA/Carlos Ortega
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Messi Suffers Muscle Strain, Miami Reschedule Preseason Finale

Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi waves to supporters before a friendly soccer match between Inter Miami and Atlético Nacional at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellín, Colombia, 31 January 2026. EPA/Carlos Ortega
Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi waves to supporters before a friendly soccer match between Inter Miami and Atlético Nacional at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellín, Colombia, 31 January 2026. EPA/Carlos Ortega

Inter Miami’s ‌Lionel Messi did not participate in training on Wednesday due ​to a muscle strain in his left hamstring, with his injury leading to the postponement of what was supposed to be the reigning MLS Cup ‌champions' preseason ‌finale.

Inter Miami, ​who ‌are ⁠scheduled ​to open ⁠their MLS campaign on February 21, said the two-time reigning league MVP sustained the injury during a preseason game last weekend against ⁠Barcelona Sporting Club in ‌Ecuador, ‌where he scored but ​was substituted ‌in the second half.

Messi ‌underwent additional medical tests that confirmed the diagnosis.

"His gradual return to training will depend on ‌his clinical and functional progress in the coming days," Reuters quoted ⁠Inter ⁠Miami as saying.

As a result of the injury, the friendly between Inter Miami and Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle, scheduled to be played on Friday at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Puerto Rico, has ​been postponed ​to February 26.


Tottenham Hotspur Sack Head Coach Thomas Frank

(FILES) Tottenham Hotspur's Danish head coach Thomas Frank gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on January 24, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)/
(FILES) Tottenham Hotspur's Danish head coach Thomas Frank gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on January 24, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)/
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Tottenham Hotspur Sack Head Coach Thomas Frank

(FILES) Tottenham Hotspur's Danish head coach Thomas Frank gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on January 24, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)/
(FILES) Tottenham Hotspur's Danish head coach Thomas Frank gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on January 24, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)/

Thomas Frank was fired by Tottenham on Wednesday after only eight months in charge and with his team just five points above the relegation zone in the Premier League.

Despite leading Spurs to the round of 16 in the Champions League, Frank has overseen a desperate domestic campaign. A 2-1 loss to Newcastle on Tuesday means Spurs are still to win in the league in 2026.

“The Club has taken the decision to make a change in the Men’s Head Coach position and Thomas Frank will leave today,” Tottenham said in a statement. “Thomas was appointed in June 2025, and we have been determined to give him the time and support needed to build for the future together.

“However, results and performances have led the Board to conclude that a change at this point in the season is necessary.”

Frank’s exit means Spurs are on the lookout for a sixth head coach in less than seven years since Mauricio Pochettino departed in 2019.


Marseille Coach De Zerbi Leaves After Humiliating 5-0 Loss to PSG 

Marseille's Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi looks on from the technical area during the French Cup round of 32 football match between FC Bayeux and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Michel-d'Ornano Stadium in Caen on January 13, 2026. (AFP) 
Marseille's Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi looks on from the technical area during the French Cup round of 32 football match between FC Bayeux and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Michel-d'Ornano Stadium in Caen on January 13, 2026. (AFP) 
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Marseille Coach De Zerbi Leaves After Humiliating 5-0 Loss to PSG 

Marseille's Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi looks on from the technical area during the French Cup round of 32 football match between FC Bayeux and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Michel-d'Ornano Stadium in Caen on January 13, 2026. (AFP) 
Marseille's Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi looks on from the technical area during the French Cup round of 32 football match between FC Bayeux and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Michel-d'Ornano Stadium in Caen on January 13, 2026. (AFP) 

Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi is leaving the French league club in the wake of a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of PSG in French soccer biggest game.

The nine-time French champions said on Wednesday that they have ended “their collaboration by mutual agreement.”

The heavy loss Sunday at the Parc des Princes restored defending champion PSG’s two-point lead over Lens after 21 rounds, with Marseille in fourth place after the humiliating defeat.

De Zerbi's exit followed another embarrassing 3-0 loss at Club Brugge two weeks ago that resulted in Marseille exiting the Champions League.

De Zerbi, who had apologized to Marseille fans after the loss against bitter rival PSG, joined Marseille in 2024 after two seasons in charge at Brighton. After tightening things up tactically in Marseille during his first season, his recent choices had left many observers puzzled.

“Following consultations involving all stakeholders in the club’s leadership — the owner, president, director of football and head coach — it was decided to opt for a change at the head of the first team,” Marseille said. “This was a collective and difficult decision, taken after thorough consideration, in the best interests of the club and in order to address the sporting challenges of the end of the season.”

De Zerbi led Marseille to a second-place finish last season. Marseille did not immediately announce a replacement for De Zerbi ahead of Saturday's league match against Strasbourg.

Since American owner Frank McCourt bought Marseille in 2016, the former powerhouse of French soccer has failed to find any form of stability, with a succession of coaches and crises that sometimes turned violent.

Marseille dominated domestic soccer in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was the only French team to win the Champions League before PSG claimed the trophy last year. It hasn’t won its own league title since 2010.