moreee

Mohamed Salah fired Liverpool to the top of the Premier League as the Egypt star's clinical finish capped a stirring fightback to beat Brighton 2-1 on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp's side were rocked by Danny Welbeck's blistering strike after just 85 seconds at Anfield

Luis Diaz restored order with an equaliser later in the first half, before Salah netted after the interval to seal a vital victory.

Salah's third goal in his last three games was his 22nd in all competitions this term.

Unbeaten in their last six league matches, Liverpool sit three points clear of second-placed Arsenal, who face third-placed Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium later on Sunday.

An Arsenal victory would take them above Liverpool on goal difference. Any other result would keep Liverpool in pole position.

For the first time in 10 years, the Premier League's top three were separated by only one point after 28 games prior to this weekend's matches.

Thanks to Salah, treble-chasing Liverpool remain firmly in the hunt for a record-equalling 20th English title in Klopp's final season.

Unbeaten in their last 27 home league games, Liverpool are back in action at Anfield against lowly Sheffield United on Thursday.

After former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso confirmed he intends to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi is a reported candidate to replace Klopp when the German steps down at the end of this term.

Klopp is a big fan of De Zerbi's attacking philosophy and praised him as a "top coach" this week.

Playing for the first time since their painful FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Manchester United before international break, Liverpool had a shocking taste of De Zerbi's enterprising tactics after just two minutes.

• Salah strikes -

Brighton's Simon Adingra broke quickly in a devastating counter-attack that caught Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley out of position.

When Virgil van Dijk's scuffed clearance rolled to Welbeck just inside the penalty area, the Brighton forward lashed a strike into the top corner to leave Klopp shaking his head.

Salah was making his first league start since New Year's Day after an injury-plagued beginning to 2024.

Looking to make up for lost time, Salah nearly grabbed the equaliser with a curler that whistled just wide.

The Egypt forward threatened again from Bradley's cross, but he couldn't keep his shot on target from a good position 10 yards out.

Liverpool's dominance was rewarded in the 27th minute when Brighton failed to clear Salah's header from a corner and Diaz volleyed home from close-range.

Darwin Nunez's agile effort from flat on the turf was saved by Bart Verbruggen just before the break.

Liverpool midfielder Alexis Max Allister squandered a chance against his former club with a header that flashed narrowly wide early in the second half.

Dominik Szoboszlai fired past the far post from 20 yards, while Nunez was denied by Verbruggen at the near post.

Mac Allister was catalyst with a perfectly-weighted pass that picked out Salah's run into the area and the forward dispatched a composed low finish past Verbruggen.

In a tense finale, former Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana should have punished his old team, but he rolled his shot wide to Klopp's immense relief.

Boxing fans surrounded by chocolate egg remnants can indulge further into Easter Sunday evening with a tasty heavyweight showdown as Fabio Wardley faces rival Frazer Clarke.

The two unbeaten Britons - who collide at London's O2 Arena - have trodden very different paths towards arguably the most high-profile fight of their respective pro careers.

British and Commonwealth champion Wardley, 29, has only been boxing for seven years, in which time he has progressed from the unlicensed white collar scene - and no amateur career - to 17 pro wins.

"I've shown that I'm a very good and well-rounded boxer although I do get involved in scraps here and there," he says.

Clarke meanwhile is the better schooled of the pair - a product of TeamGB whose amateur accolades include an Olympic bronze medal at Tokyo 2020.

As a pro, however, the 32-year-old from Burton upon Trent is yet to set the world alight but still feels his experience will prevail in a contest billed as "bad blood".

"[Wardley] has knocked a lot of people out and looked devastating but he's not been in the ring with Frazer Clarke yet," he says.

"Myself, I know too much. I'm working too hard. I hit hard as well. I'm too fast, too knowledgeable, too switched on, too good looking, too sexy, too strong, too much of a beast."

Year in the making
Despite Wardley and Clarke being fairly respectful towards each other in fight week, there has been plenty of back and forth between the fighters and their teams over the past year.

The heavyweights were ordered to fight for the British title in April 2023 but Clarke's team withdrew on the day of scheduled purse bids.

"He's a good fighter but there is definitely an authentic tone of bad blood," Wardley says.

"The timing of it all and him waiting until the last minute and dropping out on the day... He was constantly wasting a lot of people's time."

The Ipswich fighter stopped David Adeleye in October in a career-best performance, while Clarke's stock dropped after an unspectacular points win over Poland's Mariusz Wach and a stoppage victory against the overmatched Dave Allen.

"I almost feel like he's being looked after and they're trying to keep him safe and make sure he's well cuddled on his initial ride in the pro ranks," Wardley adds.

"Making that leap from very casual, unambitious opponents to someone like me - who has been fighting top-level opponents for the past two years - is a very large jump. And I think he'll find that quite a surprise. "

There is more than just undefeated records and the coveted British and Commonwealth belts on the line in South East London.

With the riches and lure of the heavyweight division - largely down to Saudi Arabia's recent investment in the sport - the winner will put himself forward for some potentially lucrative bouts.

Wardley, who earned a career-high payday against Adeleye in Saudi Arabia, is tipped by many as the next British heavyweight star.

With the likes of WBC champion Tyson Fury and two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua are arguably at the back end of their careers, Wardley says a win over Clarke will take him some way towards achieving his world title dream.

"The guys at the top don't really have too much longer left, between all of them probably two or three years, if that," Wardley says.

"The belts will also fragment in that time as well - so being well positioned with all the governing bodies is the aim after I get past Frazer."

Victor Wembanyama hit a career-high 40 points, including a big three-pointer with one minute and 12 seconds to play in overtime, as the San Antonio Spurs held off the visiting New York Knicks.

The Spurs came through 130-126 despite New York's Jalen Brunson hitting 61 points - a career high.

He missed the Knicks' single-game scoring record, held by Carmelo Anthony since 2014, by one point.

Wembanyama also had 20 rebounds and seven assists.

The 20-year-old Frenchman's haul saw him become the first rookie to record a 40-point, 20-rebound game since Shaquille O'Neal had 46 and 21 in 1993.

He hit a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime.

His overtime three-pointer made it 128-124 and although Mitchell Robinson cut the gap to two, Brunson missed a three-pointer with five seconds left and the Knicks threw away the rebound before two Tre Jones free throws extended the winning margin.

Latest NBA results

Elsewhere, Bam Adebayo managed 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in just three quarters to lead hosts Miami Heat to a comfortable 142-82 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers - their largest-ever winning margin.

Miami had 26 points and 11 rebounds from reserve Thomas Bryant while Jimmy Butler managed eight points and eight assists in 25 minutes after missing the previous game because of illness.

Anthony Edwards had 25 points while Rudy Gobert finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 111-98 to move into a tie for first place in the Western Conference.

Mike Conley scored 23 points and Jaden McDaniels 17 for the Timberwolves, who have won four in a row despite Karl-Anthony Towns' absence after surgery on his left knee.

Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 10 rebounds and Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr scored 14 each for the Nuggets, who have lost two in a row at home for the first time this season and slip to third in the West, behind Minnesota and the Oklahoma City Thunder.