Injury-hit Liverpool Produce 'Fireworks' to Blow Away Luton

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah marked his return with a goal against Brentford © Adrian DENNIS / AFP
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah marked his return with a goal against Brentford © Adrian DENNIS / AFP
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Injury-hit Liverpool Produce 'Fireworks' to Blow Away Luton

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah marked his return with a goal against Brentford © Adrian DENNIS / AFP
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah marked his return with a goal against Brentford © Adrian DENNIS / AFP

Jurgen Klopp said his injury-ravaged Liverpool produced "fireworks" to come from a goal down to beat Luton 4-1 and open up a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday.

Chiedozie Ogbene had given the Hatters a shock first-half lead against a Liverpool side missing Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota among others.

Dutch international duo Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo turned the game on its head in two minutes just before the hour mark before Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott secured the win.

Victory takes Klopp's men four points clear of Manchester City and five ahead of third-placed Arsenal, but having played a game more than both their title rivals.

"How the stadium and team together changed that game is exceptional," said Klopp, AFP reported.

"We just have to be calmer in the decisive moments Once we became calmer there were fireworks. My word they were fantastic goals. It is a fantastic night."

Liverpool's squad was already stretched by injuries prior to loss of Curtis Jones, Jota and Nunez in the first-half of Saturday's 4-1 win at Brentford.

Salah scored on his return from a hamstring injury at the weekend, but was forced on as a substitute earlier than planned and suffered a setback that kept him out.

Klopp was already without Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara due to injury and the Reds were forced to work harder for the three points than they would have wished just days before Sunday's League Cup final against Chelsea.

However, Salah and Nunez could be fit in time to feature at Wembley.

"We have to see, but I said it before the game as long as we have 11 players we will go for it," added Klopp.

Luton held Liverpool 1-1 when the sides met at Kenilworth Road in November and have made a habit of ruffling the feathers of the Premier League's elite on their return to the top flight.

However, the visitors barely posed a threat other than when they went in front on 12 minutes.

Tahith Chong burst into the Liverpool box and when his powerful shot was parried by the legs of Caoimhin Kelleher, Ogbene headed in at the far post.

All of Liverpool's chances before the break fell to Diaz, but the Colombian was wasteful with his six shots on goal.

Klopp was whipping up the Anfield crowd at every opportunity and his side finally opened the floodgates on 56 minutes.

Captain Van Dijk led by example as he shrugged off his marker to power in Alexis Mac Allister's corner.

"The reaction shown today was outstanding and something we need for the rest of the season," said Van Dijk. "Today was a big one!"

Mac Allister was the creator again seconds later as Luton again switched off from a dead ball.

Conor Bradley's throw-in picked out the Argentine midfielder and his volleyed cross was headed in by Gakpo.

Only some heroics from Thomas Kaminski denied Gakpo and Van Dijk their second goals of the night as Liverpool continued to surge forward, even with the lead.

And an animated Klopp could finally relax 19 minutes from time when Diaz this time kept his composure to slot home his 10th goal of the season.

Elliott then rounded off the scoring on his 100th Liverpool appearance by blasting a loose ball into the top corner.

Defeat leaves Luton still in the relegation zone on goal difference.

"In the second half we played into their hands and their counter pressing was incredible, we experienced that full throttle football," said Luton boss Rob Edwards.

"We knew today was going to be a really big task. We showed for long periods we are a good team and we can compete."



Verona Prepares its Ancient Arena for the Olympics Closing Ceremony on Sunday

A view of the Arena ahead of the closing ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
A view of the Arena ahead of the closing ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
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Verona Prepares its Ancient Arena for the Olympics Closing Ceremony on Sunday

A view of the Arena ahead of the closing ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
A view of the Arena ahead of the closing ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

A city forever associated with Romeo and Juliet, Verona will host the final act of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday inside the ancient Roman Arena, where some 1,500 athletes will celebrate their feats against a backdrop of Italian music and dance.

Acclaimed ballet dancer Roberto Bolle has been rehearsing for the closing ceremony inside the Arena di Verona this week under a veil of secrecy, along with some 350 volunteers, for a spectacle titled “Beauty in Motion," which frames beauty as something inherently dynamic.

“Beauty cannot be fixed in time. This ancient monument is beautiful if it is alive, if it continues to change,” said the ceremony's producer, Alfredo Accatino. “This is what we want to narrate: An Italy that is changing, and also the beauty of movement, the beauty of sport and the beauty of nature."

Other headlining Italian artists include singer Achille Lauro and DJ Gabry Ponte, whose hits could be heard blasting from the Arena during rehearsals this week.

Inside a tent serving as a dressing room, seamstresses put the finishing touches on costumes inspired by the opera world as volunteers prepped for the stage, The Associated Press reported.

“It’s really special to be inside the Arena,” said Matilde Ricchiuto, a student from a local dance school. "Usually, I am there as a spectator and now I get to be a star, I would say. I feel super special.”

The Arena has been a venue for popular entertainment since it was first built in 1 A.D., predating the larger Roman Colosseum by decades. Accatino said the ancient monument will produce some surprises from within its vast tunnels.

“Under the Arena there is a mysterious world that hides everything that has happened. At a certain point, this world will come out," Accatino said, promising “something very beautiful."

The ceremony will open with athletes parading triumphantly through Piazza Bra into the Arena, which once served as a stage for gladiator fights and hunts for exotic beasts.

The closing ceremony stage was inspired by a drop of water, meant to symbolically unite the Olympic mountain venues with the Po River Valley, where Milan and Verona are located, while serving as a reminder that the Winter Games are being reshaped by climate change.

While the opening ceremony was held in Milan, the other host city, Cortina d’Ampezzo, nestled in the Dolomite mountains, was considered too small and remote to host the closing ceremony. Verona, in the same Veneto region as Cortina, was chosen for its unique venue and relatively central location, said Maria Laura Iascone, the local organizing committee's head of ceremonies.

“Only Italians can use such monuments to do special events, so this is very unique, very rare," Iascone said of the Arena.

She promised a more intimate evening than the opening ceremony in Milan's San Siro soccer stadium, with about 12,000 people attending the closing compared with more than 60,000 for the opening.

Iascone said about 1,500 of the nearly 3,000 athletes participating in the most spread-out Winter Games in Olympic history are expected to drive a little over an hour from Milan and between two and four hours from the six mountain venues.

The ceremony will close with the Olympic flame being extinguished. A light show will substitute fireworks, which are not allowed in Verona to protect animals from being disturbed.

The Verona Arena will also be the venue for the Paralympic opening ceremony on March 6. For the ceremonies, the ancient Arena has been retrofitted with new wheelchair ramps and accessible restrooms along with other safety upgrades. The six Paralympic events will be held in Milan and Cortina until March 15.


Arsenal Blows 2-goal Lead at Wolves to Boost Man City's Premier League Title Chances

Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - February 18, 2026  Wolverhampton Wanderers' Tom Edozie celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates REUTERS/Chris Radburn
Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - February 18, 2026 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Tom Edozie celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates REUTERS/Chris Radburn
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Arsenal Blows 2-goal Lead at Wolves to Boost Man City's Premier League Title Chances

Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - February 18, 2026  Wolverhampton Wanderers' Tom Edozie celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates REUTERS/Chris Radburn
Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - February 18, 2026 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Tom Edozie celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates REUTERS/Chris Radburn

Arsenal blew a two-goal lead at last-place Wolves on Wednesday to give a huge boost to Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title.

The league leader was held to a surprise 2-2 draw at Molineux, having led 2-0 in the second half.

Teenage debutant Tom Edozie scored in the fourth minute of added time to complete Wolves' comeback.

“There was a big difference in how we played in the first half and the second half. We dropped our standards and we got punished for it,” Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka told the BBC.

The draw means Arsenal has dropped points in back-to-back games and leaves it just five ahead of second-place City, having played a game more.

With the top two still to play each other at City's Etihad Stadium, the title race is too close to call.

“(It's) time to focus on ourselves, improve our standards and improve our performances and it is in our control,” Saka said.

Arsenal has led the way for the majority of the season and one bookmaker paid out on Mikel Arteta's team winning the title after it opened up a nine-point lead earlier this month.

But Wednesday's result was the latest sign that it is feeling the pressure, having finished runner-up in each of the last three seasons. It has won just two of its last seven league games.

Having blown a lead against Brentford last week, it was even worse at a Wolves team that has won just one game all season.

Victory looked all but secured after Saka gave Arsenal the lead with a header in the fifth minute and Piero Hincapie ran through to blast in the second in the 56th.

But Wolves' fightback began with Hugo Bueno's curling shot into the top corner in the 61st.

The 19-year-old Edozie was sent on as a substitute in the 84th and his effort earned the home team only its 10th point of a campaign that looks certain to end in relegation.

While it did little for Wolves' chances of survival, it may have had a major impact at the top of the standings.

“Incredibly disappointed that we gave two points away,” Arteta said. "I think we need to fault ourselves and give credit to Wolves. But what we did in the second half was nowhere near our standards that we have to play in order to win a game in the Premier League.

“When you don’t perform you can get punished, and we got punished and we have to accept the hits because that can happen when you are on top."

Arsenal plays Tottenham on Sunday. Its lead could be cut to two points before it kicks off if City wins against Newcastle on Saturday.


Sinner Sees off Popyrin to Reach Doha Quarters

 Italy's Jannik Sinner greets the fans after defeating Australia's Alexei Popyrin in their men's singles match at the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha on February 18, 2026. (AFP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner greets the fans after defeating Australia's Alexei Popyrin in their men's singles match at the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha on February 18, 2026. (AFP)
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Sinner Sees off Popyrin to Reach Doha Quarters

 Italy's Jannik Sinner greets the fans after defeating Australia's Alexei Popyrin in their men's singles match at the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha on February 18, 2026. (AFP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner greets the fans after defeating Australia's Alexei Popyrin in their men's singles match at the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha on February 18, 2026. (AFP)

Jannik Sinner powered past Alexei Popyrin in straight sets on Wednesday to reach the last eight of the Qatar Open and edge closer to a possible final meeting with Carlos Alcaraz.

The Italian, playing his first tournament since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals last month, eased to a 6-3, 7-5 second-round win in Doha.

Sinner will play Jakub Mensik in Thursday's quarter-finals.

Australian world number 53 Popyrin battled gamely but failed to create a break-point opportunity against his clinical opponent.

Sinner dropped just three points on serve in an excellent first set which he took courtesy of a break in the sixth game.

Popyrin fought hard in the second but could not force a tie-break as Sinner broke to grab a 6-5 lead before confidently serving it out.

World number one Alcaraz takes on Frenchman Valentin Royer in his second-round match later.