From football to basketball to golf, and a thousand other games, the world of sports is a never ending joy ride and we bring you updates from the high points of the week. Dig in!
Football: FA Cup fourth round
Arsenal vs. Southhampton
FA Cup holders Arsenal were knocked out in the fourth round by Southampton on Saturday after a first-half own goal from Gabriel.
The Brazil centre back deflected Kyle Walker-Peters’ low drive past Bernd Leno midway through the opening 45 minutes at St Mary’s – the first goal the visitors had conceded in over eight and a half hours stretching back to Boxing Day – as Southampton got the better of Arsenal for the first time in the competition.
As a result, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side will take on Wolves at Molineux in February’s fifth round after they edged past non-league Chorley Town 1-0 on Friday night.
Manchester City vs. Cheltenham
Manchester City were nine minutes away from being dumped out of the FA Cup by League Two Cheltenham but late goals saved their bacon as they rallied to earn a 3-1 win.
It looked to be one of those nights in the famous competition as City squandered chances but with just nine minutes to go Phil Foden drew City level (81) before Gabriel Jesus ended the possibility of extra-time with another close-range finish (84).
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp hopes his Liverpool side has hit their lowest point and can now start to bounce back.
Klopp insists his players have not “changed overnight” despite the defeat to Burnley ending a 68-match unbeaten run at home in the Premier League after a fourth successive game without a goal.
“We lost that game and it was a really low point. It’s not that I thought, ‘Who cares?’,” he said.
“When I think back I can’t find a reason why we lost that game but we lost it. It happened and sometimes you need a really low point to change things properly and that’s for sure [what] we will go for now.
“If we would have won in a bad game the world would have said, ‘OK, it’s not the football they usually play but they are back on the result path’, but in the long term it would not help.
“It can be a real help if we use it. I can imagine what a lot of people think about us in the moment.
Golf
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Rory McIlroy is taking nothing for granted as he heads into the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship with a one-shot lead over Tyrrell Hatton.
McIlroy put himself in pole position to win his first Rolex Series title after a third-round 67 atoned for his erratic play on Friday and took him one clear of overnight leader Hatton, with fellow Ryder Cup team-mate Tommy Fleetwood also in the mix after 54 holes.
“I can’t go into tomorrow thinking it’s my turn, I want to make it my turn. I have to go out there and continue to hit the ball like I hit it on the back nine today. If I can do that, I’ll have a real chance” – Mcllroy
Basketball
Los Angeles Lakers maintain unbeaten record on road against Milwaukee Bucks
LeBron James scored a season-high 34 points to help keep the Los Angeles Lakers undefeated on the road this season with a 113-106 win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. James shot 6-for-10 from 3-point range and added eight assists for the Lakers in the opener of a seven-game road trip as they extended their franchise-best road start to 8-0.
Brooklyn Nets return to winning ways with victory over Miami Heat on Saturday
Kevin Durant scored 31 points as the Brooklyn Nets never trailed, survived multiple fourth-quarter comeback attempts and a career-high 41-point night by Bam Adebayo in a 128-124 victory over Miami Heat on Saturday in New York.
Kyrie Irving added 18 of his 28 points in a fourth quarter that saw the Nets survive multiple comeback attempts by the Heat. Joe Harris added 23 and tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers and Adebayo surpassed his previous career high of 30 points in December 2019 and made 14 of 20 shots but did not hit a basket in the final 5 1/2 minutes.