BARCELONA: Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski ended his scoring drought by scoring two goals in a 2-1 win over Alaves in La Liga action.

Samu Omorodion put Alaves in front in the first minute but Lewandowski’s double in the second half secured all three points for Barcelona.

The win puts Barcelona four points behind leaders Girona and two points behind Real Madrid.

Veteran striker Lewandowski headed in the equalizer early in the second half before converting a 77th-minute penalty for his seventh league goal.

The Polish striker had previously gone six games without a goal – his worst run in more than a decade.

Barcelona also recorded a string of disappointing results with their manager, Xavi blaming media criticism – which affected the performance of his young players.

“We are more stressed because of the criticism on the team. It used to happen to sayya as a player and now it is happening to my players,” said Xavi.

Alaves needed just 18 seconds to open the scoring when Ilkay Gundogan lost the ball in midfield and Javi Lopez passed to Omorodion who slotted the ball between the legs of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

LONDON: Arsenal are on the best footing to expand their position at the top of Group B of the European Champions League.

After three games, Mikel Arteta’s men collected six points, one more than Lens and four more than Sevilla and PSV Eindhoven.

Sevilla, who are yet to record a win after three matches, are confident of improving their position, not to mention against Arsenal who beat them 2-1 in the previous match.

“There were times when we played better than Arsenal in attack. We proved that we are capable of making it a difficult game for them. We have high confidence,” said Sevilla manager Nemanja Gudelj.

Gabriel Jesus found the target in the first three group stage games for Arteta’s side.

“It’s not easy to play with the courage we showed on the highest stage. It gives confidence and at the same time we want more,” said Arteta.

MANCHESTER: Gary Neville has warned Erik ten Hag that he may be sacked by Manchester United.

United were knocked out of the League Cup after losing 3-0 to Newcastle at home, three days after being beaten by Manchester City in the Premier League at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag have now made United’s worst start to a season since the 1962-63 campaign and his side have lost five of their first 10 home games for the first time since 1930-31.

United finished third in the league in Ten Hag’s first season and ended a six-year championship drought when they beat Newcastle in last season’s League Cup final.

“Yesterday saw the Theater of Dreams turn into the Theater of Nothing. All United supporters are getting bored and tired.

“On the field, the players performed poorly, the manager struggled in front of our eyes.

“We’ve seen it before, we know how it ends and we’re tired of it,” said Neville.

The Dutchman is the fifth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson retired after winning the 2013 Premier League.

David Moyes only lasted nine months at Old Trafford, while Louis Van Gaal was sacked after two seasons, despite winning the FA Cup in 2015.

Jose Mourinho bagged two trophies, but was sacked midway through his third season when United fell 19 points behind the league leaders.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Mourinho in December 2018 before being made permanent manager four months later.

In July 2021, two months after United lost the Europa League final on penalties, the Norwegian manager extended his contract for a three-year period.

However, he was sacked after four months when United collected just 17 points from their first 12 league games and Solskjaer was replaced by Ralf Rangnick.

LIVERPOOL: Mohamed Salah has been urged to stay at Anfield by his teammate Alisson.

The Egyptian forward struck twice as the Reds won their Merseyside neighbors’ clash with Everton on Saturday.

The goal made Salah the first English Premier League player to score 30 goals in 2023.

Salah now overtakes Steven Gerrard and Kenny Dalglish in the list of all-time top scorers at Anfield.

However, his future at Anfield continues to be questionable after Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad were interested in signing him since last summer’s transfer window.

Liverpool rejected Al-Ittihad’s bid and managed to keep Salah at Anfield this season.

According to Alisson, Salah needs to stay as long as possible with Liverpool after the striker once again showed his sharpness in front of goal.

“This player is amazing. I’m happy he’s in our team. I hope he can break all the records while wearing our red jersey,” said Alisson.

LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo has emerged as the world’s highest-paid footballer in 2023, earning more than the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar in the past 12 months, according to Forbes.

Ronaldo, who is also listed by Forbes as the highest paid athlete in any sport, tops the list with an expected total income of US$260 million.

The Portuguese striker’s contract with the Saudi Arabian club, Al-Nassr, which he joined from Manchester United last January, is reported to be worth US$200 million while his endorsement portfolio including Nike and Jacob & Co is estimated to be worth US$60 million each year, according to Forbes.

Messi ranked second on the list with an expected total income of US$135 million, boosted by his move to Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami.

Messi is the first MLS player to appear in the top 10 since David Beckham in 2012.

Brazilian forward Neymar completed the top three with a total income of US$112 million after signing a contract with Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League last August.

The influence of the Saudi Pro League is clearly seen in the Forbes list with four players (Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane) in the world’s top 11 list.

According to Forbes, the combined earnings of four Saudi Pro League players accounted for more than half of the US$995 million earned collectively by all 11 players on the richest list.

Kylian Mbappe is next, behind his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar, with a total income of US$110 million.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is the highest-paid English Premier League player with a higher total annual income than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and team-mate Kevin De Bruyne.

According to Forbes, on-field earnings figures include all prize money, salaries and bonuses earned in the past 12 months while off-field earnings are estimated sponsorship deals, appearance fees, licensing income and cash returns from businesses operated.