Real Madrid beat Al-Hilal in a remarkable eight-goal Fifa Club World Cup final in Rabat to win the trophy for a record-extending fifth time.
Vinicius Jr and Federico Valverde put European champions Real 2-0 up and Moussa Marega gave Al-Hilal hope before Vinicius set up Karim Benzema’s goal.
Valverde netted again and Luciano Vietto scored before Vinicius’ second.
Vietto swivelled in the box before firing in a second to for 5-3 but Al-Hilal rarely looked like coming back.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real added to their four cups from 2014 to 2018 – and ensured European teams have won the past 10 editions of the tournament.
They had brushed off Egyptian side Al Ahly 4-1 in the semi-finals, the round the European champions always enter the tournament.
Asian champions Al-Hilal, who are managed by former Oxford United boss Ramon Diaz, beat Brazilians Flamengo in the semis to become the first Saudi team to reach the final.
But despite the double from former Fulham striker Vietto they could not become the first Asian team to lift the trophy.
Chelsea won last year’s final but were not able to defend it as only reigning continental champions – and champions of the host country – are invited.
Fifa plans to change the format of the tournament from June 2025 to feature 32 teams and be held every four years. BBC
Arsenal Drop Points In Brentford Draw
Arsenal missed the opportunity to move eight points clear at the top as Ivan Toney headed in a deserved equaliser for Brentford to earn a 1-1 draw at the Emirates.
The Gunners had been on course to bounce back from defeat at Everton and move well clear of their title rivals Manchester City, who can reduce the gap against Aston Villa live on Sky Sports Super Sunday before playing Arsenal on Wednesday, when Leandro Trossard tapped home just five minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Brentford had seen Rico Henry miss a golden early opportunity before Toney hit the crossbar in an impressive first-half performance which should have had them ahead at the break.
However, Thomas Frank’s spirited Bees eventually found the net, hitting back through their talisman Toney, who controversially nodded in from close range to take a well-earned point, extending their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 10 games, and leaving Arsenal to settle for a six-point advantage over City.
Mikel Arteta believed the equaliser should have been ruled out due to Ethan Pinnock standing in an offside position while blocking Gabriel as the ball was delivered into the area from a free-kick.
“I just looked at it back and it is offside,” he said. “We’ll probably be given an explanation later in the week but today we haven’t got any.
“Looking at the images, you have to apply certain principles in defending and you do that by sticking to the rules and suddenly you apply different rules then you have to change your principles. So tell us before because then you don’t hold the line that high because you’re always going to have an advantage if you get blocked.
“It’s too late, the goal was allowed, we dropped two points.” SkySports
Leicester Stun Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham’s mentality was questioned as assistant boss Cristian Stellini apologised for their humbling by Leicester City.
The Foxes were hugely impressive as they came from behind to win with four goals for the second time in a row.
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Spurs, with boss Antonio Conte back in the dugout following a gallbladder removal, had an ideal start when Rodrigo Bentancur diverted home Victor Kristiansen’s sliced clearance.
But the resurgent Foxes netted twice in less than two and a half minutes to turn the game on its head.
First Nampalys Mendy scored only the second goal of his entire career when he crashed a first-time screamer into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Soon after, Wout Faes’ tackle on Harry Kane on halfway ricocheted into the path of Kelechi Iheanacho, who squared for James Maddison to score.
Spurs defender Eric Dier stood off Iheanacho, who stroked a shot into the bottom corner for a Leicester third before the break.
Harvey Barnes had a goal disallowed by the video assistant referee for offside but Spurs failed to learn their lesson and the winger slotted in a fourth from Maddison’s pass 10 minutes later.
“To be consistent is a long process, it’s a mental process, you have to be better mentally,” said Stellini, who spoke to the media instead of the recovering Conte.
“After we scored the goal, something changed. In the team something has to change, not individually. It’s about the desire.
“We have to apologise because our performance wasn’t good enough. We have lost too many tackles, too many duels. This comes from strength inside of you.”
To cap off a truly rotten afternoon for Spurs, they lost goalscorer Bentancur to a knee injury suffered as he tackled Mendy after an hour.
The Foxes are now 13th, six points above the relegation zone, while Tottenham remain fifth.
The World Cup killed Leicester’s momentum, with four wins out of five beforehand and four defeats in a row afterwards.
But added to a draw with Brighton and 4-2 win at Aston Villa, this result against Spurs shows that they have now recovered.
“It was a continuation of last week,” said boss Brendan Rodgers. “Some of our football was outstanding. We looked back to being really dangerous again. We could have had a couple more goals. We played with a real bravery.”
With Maddison well and truly back from injury, and several new signings, plus Iheanacho scoring for a third game in a row, Rodgers will be delighted.
It had looked set to be a bad afternoon when Kristensen diverted a corner into the path of Bentancur for the opener.
The Denmark Under-21 defender had a bright game, that one moment aside, clearing a ball off the line moments before that goal and popping up in both boxes with tackles and passes.
But then Mendy produced his unbelievable strike, his first in English football, as he ran on to Bentancur’s clearance to leather a shot past Fraser Forster.
Faes had already been booked for tackling Kane so he was taking a risk when he challenged the same player in the centre circle. But the loose ball flew about 30 yards to Iheanacho to set up Maddison for his second goal in two games.
Iheanacho put them in control before the break from Harry Souttar’s ball – and they had chances in the second half before two clever Barnes finishes, one that did not stand and then the one that did.
This must now be considered the most entertaining Premier League match-up of recent seasons. Since Leicester’s promotion in 2014, their games against Spurs have produced 76 goals, the most of any fixture in the division over that time.
To improve the party atmosphere even more, Rodgers was able to bring on right-back Ricardo Pereira for his first appearance of the season following an Achilles injury. BBC
Bournemouth Hold Newcastle
Newcastle missed the chance to move up to third in the Premier League table after Bournemouth held them to a 1-1 draw on Eddie Howe’s return to the Vitality Stadium.
Knowing three points on the south coast would take them above Manchester United on goal difference, Newcastle struggled to find any rhythm in the first half and deservedly fell behind when Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi reacted quickest from a corner to tap in from close range (30).
Bournemouth continued to impress during the opening 45 minutes but the visitors hit back on the stroke of half-time when Miguel Almiron calmly slotted home his 10th Premier League goal of the season after Sean Longstaff’s powerful effort was saved by Neto (45+2).
After Anthony Gordon went close to giving Newcastle the lead in the second half, the returning Dominic Solanke thought he had scored a winner for Bournemouth as the game headed into stoppage time but his effort was brilliantly cleared off the line by Kieran Trippier and the contest ended level.
The result leaves Newcastle fourth, two points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand, and extended their unbeaten top-flight run to 17 matches but injuries to Almiron, Joe Willock and Allan Saint-Maximin will be a major concern to Howe with the Carabao Cup final only two weeks away.
Bournemouth remain 19th, one point behind Leeds in 17th but having played a game more. This was a vital point against a strong opponent but their wait for a first win since the Premier League season resumed after the World Cup continues.
Howe made his first return to Bournemouth since he departed the club in 2020 but a knock in training denied Callum Wilson the chance to face his old team. It meant Alexander Isak, Newcastle’s record £60m signing, made only his sixth appearance in the league following an injury-hit first campaign. – SkySports
