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Liverpool Must Steady Title Challenge as Chasing Pack Close In

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Adrian DENNIS / AFP/File
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Adrian DENNIS / AFP/File
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Liverpool Must Steady Title Challenge as Chasing Pack Close In

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Adrian DENNIS / AFP/File
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Adrian DENNIS / AFP/File

Liverpool must come to terms with a rare domestic loss as the Premier League leaders fight to get back on track this weekend.
Beaten at Arsenal last Sunday, if Jurgen Klopp's side slip up again at home to Burnley, then either Manchester City or the Gunners could knock Liverpool out of pole position.
AFP Sport looks at three key talking points ahead of the latest round of matches:
Title destiny in Liverpool's hands
Jurgen Klopp has told his Liverpool players to "create their own destiny" in the title race, starting with Saturday's visit from struggling Burnley.
After losing 3-1 against third-placed Arsenal last weekend, Klopp's men are just two points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, with Mikel Arteta's Gunners also trailing the leaders by the same margin.
It was only Liverpool's second league defeat this term and Klopp said: "We didn't lose recently an awful lot of football games, we know that.
"That means dealing with defeats is a challenge, for humankind actually. Nobody here expects that we just will fly over Burnley or whatever."
Klopp, in the midst of his final season in charge of Liverpool, knows his side can ill-afford to crash against second-bottom Burnley and he called on them to seize the moment rather than fear it.
"It's a home game and we can turn things around, meaning the first step, and then we will see," he said.
"Nobody celebrates the champion and nobody is relegated as far as I know, so we have all the chance to create our own destiny."
'Humble' Arsenal ready for photo finish
Martin Odegaard insists Arsenal will remain "humble" after being criticised by some pundits for 'over-celebrating' their vital victory against Liverpool.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta embarked on a jubilant jig down the touchline after Leandro Trossard's stoppage-time goal killed off their title rivals at the raucous Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal captain Odegaard led the post-match celebrations on the pitch, taking a camera from the club's photographer to snap the joyous scenes following a result which reignited his team's bid for a first title since 2004.
"I think everyone who loves football, who understands football, they know how much it means to win this game. And if you're not allowed to celebrate when you win a game, when are you allowed to celebrate?" he said.
"We're happy with the win and we'll stay humble. It was a massive game. As you say it could have been eight points (if we'd lost) and it would look a lot more difficult then but we showed up."
Arsenal, who blew an eight-point lead in the title race last season, can keep the pressure on Liverpool with a victory in Sunday's London derby at West Ham.
Champions Manchester City host Everton on Saturday aiming to stay one step ahead of Arsenal.
Blunt Blades face crunch clash
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has warned his players to block out the narrative that they are destined for relegation.
The Blades sit bottom of the Premier League, 10 points from safety, after last week's 5-0 hammering by Aston Villa.
Time is running out to avoid an immediate return to the Championship and Wilder's side are desperate to beat fellow strugglers Luton on Saturday.
United would cut the gap on fourth-bottom Luton to seven points with victory at Kenilworth Road, but a loss could be fatal to their survival bid.
"The narrative will be how well they're doing as a promoted side and how poor we are at the moment," Wilder said.
"We have to try and turn that into a positive. There's no hiding place in the Premier League."

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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open on Friday after a soaking wet ceremony in which athletes were cheered by the crowd along the Seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.

France's three-time Olympic gold medalists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada's Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf's "Hymn to Love", in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.

The 30-meter (98 ft) high balloon carrying a 7-meter diameter ring of fire took to the air and was hovering dozens of meters above the ground.

It will be in the air from sunset until 2 am local time every day, organizers said.

"We are so proud of this show, I'm so proud that sport and culture were celebrated in such a fantastic manner tonight, it was a first and the result was fantastic despite the rain," Paris 2024 organizing president Tony Estanguet told reporters.

A fleet of barges took the competitors on a 6 km-stretch of the river alongside some of the French capital's most famous landmarks, as performers recreated some of the sports to be showcased in the Games on floating platforms.

It was the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.

"I invite everybody: dream with us. Like the Olympic athletes, be inspired with the joy that only sport can give us. Let us celebrate this Olympic spirit of living in peace," International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach said as the ceremony came to an end at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday.

As the show started four hours earlier, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke, resembling the French flag, was sent high above a bridge over the Seine as part of a show that included many postcard-like depictions of France, including a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge dancers on the banks.

A more modern image of the country was on display when French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most-listened to French female singer in the world, sang some of her biggest hits, accompanied by the French Republican Guard's army choir.

Nakamura's performance drew some of the ceremony's biggest cheers. Rumors of her inclusion had sparked a row over French identity, with supporters saying she represented the vibrancy of modern-day France while her detractors said her music owes more to foreign influences than French.

POURING RAIN

While the celebration of French culture, fashion and history was warmly cheered by many of the 300,000 spectators lining the river, hundreds were seen leaving early as the rain fell.

"It was good other than the rain, it was nice, it was different, instead of being in a stadium being on the river, so that's always a good thing - interesting, unique," said Avid Pureval, 34, who came to the Games from Ohio.

"Once you're wet, it's fine," he said. Still, he was heading back to his hotel after the French boat passed, long before the ceremony ended.

"It would have been better with sun," said Josephine, from Paris, sitting beside her 9-year-old daughter and who paid 1,600 euros ($1,736) for her seat.

With many world leaders and VIPs present, the ceremony was protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine's riverbed was swept for bombs, and Paris' airspace was closed.

Some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers were deployed in a huge security operation in Paris for the ceremony. Armed police patrolled along the river in inflatable boats as the armada made its passage along the Seine.

WELCOMED IN TAHITI

A mix of French and international stars, including soccer great Zinedine Zidane, 14-times French Open champion Rafa Nadal, 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and three paralympic athletes were among the last torchbearers before the cauldron was lit.

It will blaze until the closing ceremony on Aug. 11.

At the start of the parade, applause erupted for the Greek boat - the first delegation, by tradition - and there were even bigger cheers for the boat that followed, carrying the refugees' team. The French, US and Ukrainian delegations also got loud cheers.

The two most decorated athletes in the Games' history, Michael Phelps and Martin Fourcade, unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals.

At one point, there was a live crossover to the early morning welcome ceremony at the surfing venue, 16,000 km away in the Pacific island of Tahiti.

ISRAEL DELEGATION

France is at its highest level of security, though officials have repeatedly said there was no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.

But since the last Games - the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 - wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a tense international backdrop.

Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and are given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics due to the war in Gaza, officials say.

The Israel delegation got some boos, but also a lot of cheers, as it sailed by spectators, Reuters reporters saw. Chants of "Palestine! Palestine! Palestine!" rose from the crowd as the boat passed.

Macron, who won a second mandate two years ago, had hoped the Olympics would cement his legacy. But his failed bet on a snap legislative election has weakened him and cast a shadow over his moment on the international stage.