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Manchester United condemned Liverpool to a fourth successive defeat as Harry Maguire’s late goal sealed a 2-1 win over the spluttering Premier League champions.

After losses against Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea, Arne Slot’s side endured their most painful setback of the season at the hands of their bitter rivals on Sunday.

Bryan Mbeumo put United in front after two minutes and although Cody Gakpo equalised in the 78th minute, Maguire grabbed his club’s first win at Anfield since 2016 with an 84th-minute header.

Maguire’s goal also secured back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time in Ruben Amorim’s tenure as United boss.

The defeat leaves Liverpool four points adrift of Arsenal at the top of the table and Arne Slot still searching for answers on how to get the right balance after splashing out nearly 450 million pounds ($604m) on new players in the transfer market.

United close to within two points of their historic football rivals and up to ninth in the table to ease the pressure on Amorim after his biggest win in nearly a year in charge.

After three consecutive defeats for the first time in Slot’s reign, Liverpool could barely have imagined a worse start on Sunday.

Mbeumo sped past Virgil van Dijk with ease before firing past Giorgi Mamardashvili from Amad Diallo’s pass after barely a minute.

The home side and support were furious that play was not stopped in the build-up after Alexis MacAllister went down with a head injury, inflicted by his own captain, van Dijk.

Slot left big-money signing Florian Wirtz on the bench for the second consecutive game as he looked in vain to find the right balance between defence and attack.

Gakpo should have levelled for the defending champions when he hit the post from Mohamed Salah’s through ball in Liverpool’s one flowing move of the first half.

Bruno Fernandes then spurned a glorious chance to double the Red Devils’ lead when he hit the outside of the post when unmarked from the edge of the area.

At the other end, Senne Lammens was rarely troubled in the first 45 minutes, but produced a big save when called upon to deny Alexander Isak his first Premier League goal since joining Liverpool for a British transfer record 125 million pounds ($168m).

A Gakpo deflected cross then came back off the post and the Dutchman rattled the woodwork for a third time early in the second half.

Slot turned to his near 200 million pounds ($268m) in forward options off the bench as Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike were introduced on the hour mark to join Salah, Gakpo and Isak in a five-man attack.

Salah has scored more goals than any other player in this fixture, but his lack of form showed in a wild finish to slice wide with just Lammens to beat at the back post.

Liverpool’s wealth of attacking talent finally broke the door down when Federico Chiesa, who had replaced Isak moments earlier, drilled in a low cross that Gakpo converted from point-blank range.

Yet, their defensive frailties meant parity only lasted six minutes as Maguire was left unmarked to head in Fernandes’s looping cross.

Gakpo should still have rescued a point when he headed wide with the goal gaping from Jeremie Frimpong’s inviting delivery.

But Liverpool fell to their first league defeat at Anfield in over a year in another blow to their hopes of usurping United with a record 21st English top-flight title.

Maguire told Sky Sports that it “meant everything” to get the win.

“It has been a long time coming to come to this ground and pick up three points,” he said.

“The old cliche is that it is only three points, but it definitely isn’t – it means a lot more than that for the club, the boys and the fans.”

Van Dijk told Sky Sports that Liverpool need to stick together to get through such a difficult period.

“It is an interesting time because we have to stick together, not just us as players but as a club and the fans who want us to win,” Liverpool’s captain said.

“We need to stay humble, stay working and keep our confidence as high as possible. When things get tough, it is important we keep the mentality of being there for each other. It is a long season,” he said.

In Sunday’s earlier Premier League game, Emi Buendia’s curling shot sealed a 2-1 comeback win for Aston Villa against Tottenham.

The victory continued Villa’s resurgence after a desperate start to the season and denied Spurs the chance to provisionally move up to second in the standings.

Buendia shimmied his way across the edge of the box in the 77th minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before sweeping a perfect shot low into the bottom corner.

It was Villa’s fifth-straight win in all competitions after failing to pick up a victory in their first six games of the campaign.

It ended Spurs’ seven-game unbeaten run that looked set to continue when Rodrigo Bentancur fired the home team ahead after just five minutes.

Morgan Rogers levelled the game in the 37th before Villa went on to take all three points and consign Tottenham coach Thomas Frank to his second league loss since taking over in the summer.

It looked like City’s hopes of a comeback had been extinguished after just three minutes when, as she did in the first leg, Mille Gejl opened the scoring for Koge.

The former Crystal Palace midfielder took a short corner to Rikke Madsen and latched on to her fellow Denmark international’s cutback from the byeline before steering her low drive into the far corner from just inside the penalty box.

However, City were pinging the ball about far quicker than in the first leg in Denmark and were back level on the night within six minutes.

Captain Amy Muir set Nicole Kozlova down the left wing and the former Koge player’s low ball into the penalty box was fired home by strike partner Abby Harrison.

A couple of fine saves from goalkeeper Lee Gibson denied the visitors before City were back level on aggregate on 25 minutes when Emily Whelan headed powerfully home after left-back Muir crossed to the back post.

City’s joy only lasted two minutes as veteran former Manchester City and Denmark forward Nadia Nadim turned in from the left wing and sent a right-foot drive looping over Gibson and into the far corner.

Glasgow were ahead again on the night when Harrison rose with the visiting goalkeeper to meet a Lisa Evans corner and the ball deflected off Emma Pelkowski and into her own net.

Fellow midfielder Sarah Thygesen pounced on an Emma Brownlie error to slot what looked like a killer strike for the Danes six minutes from normal time.

However, Brownlie made amends by rising to meet another Evans corner and level the score on aggregate as the game entered added time.

Just when it looked like extra time might be needed, Lisa Forrest headed a cross from fellow substitute forward Sofia Maatta over the stranded goalkeeper to signal joyous scenes among the home support.

Spurs maintain their winning start to the season but leave Manchester City with yet more questions to answer.

Manchester City’s troubles from last season have been exposed once more in a humbling 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham that raises questions about their quest to regain the Premier League title.

Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha struck for the Europa League winners on Saturday just before half-time as Spurs went top of the table, making it a perfect start for manager Thomas Frank after two league games in charge.

City’s run of four consecutive titles came to a spectacular end last season as they finished a distant third behind Liverpool and Arsenal.

A 4-0 thrashing of Wolves on the opening weekend of the campaign showed glimpses of a new-look City back to their best.

However, a series of defensive issues remain unresolved as manager Pep Guardiola must decide on who will be his number one goalkeeper going forward after a day to forget for James Trafford.

The England international retained his place in goal despite the return to fitness of Ederson.

The Brazilian is reportedly on the verge of joining Turkish giants Galatasaray, which would free up City to make a move for out-of-favour Paris Saint-Germain keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

City’s failure to get those deals done before the final week of the transfer window came back to haunt them in a familiar tale for Guardiola’s men against Tottenham.

In the last 13 Premier League meetings between the sides, City have won just four despite several changes of management at Spurs in that time.

Frank is the latest man in the Tottenham dugout and has made a highly impressive start.

Spurs were minutes away from beating PSG in the UEFA Super Cup before losing on penalties and have taken maximum points from their opening two Premier League games without conceding a goal.

Omar Marmoush’s return was one of two City changes as Ballon d’Or winner Rodri had to settle for a place on the bench.

Marmoush flashed a shot across goal and was then denied by Guglielmo Vicario with City’s best chance before conceding.

City’s high line was easily exposed in an embarrassing early exit from the Club World Cup to Saudi side Al-Hilal last month and is an issue Guardiola still has to resolve.

Tottenham took the lead at 35 minutes when Mohammed Kudus fed Richarlison, and he squared for Johnson to power past Trafford.

An offside flag briefly halted Spurs’ joy until a VAR review showed the slipping Ruben Dias had played Richarlison onside.

City then completely lost their composure for the period before half-time.

Trafford was fortunate to avoid being punished after rushing outside his box to block a shot from Kudus.

But the 22-year-old then endured a moment that might cost him the chance to be Guardiola’s number one this season.

Trafford’s attempted pass to Nico Gonzalez inside his own box was intercepted by Pape Matar Sarr, and even though the goalkeeper recovered to deny Richarlison, Palhinha smashed home the rebound.

Erling Haaland had the chance to reduce City’s arrears in first-half stoppage time but headed over the goal to sum up a tough afternoon for the Norwegian.

Spurs let a two-goal lead slip late on against PSG in Frank’s first game in charge but rarely looked in danger of suffering a similar fate on Saturday.

Haaland wasted City’s other big opportunity to gain a foothold when he overhit a pass to Rayan Cherki with just Vicario to beat.

City fell to defeat with a whimper and could have been further punished on the counterattack when Trafford made good saves to deny Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert in stoppage time.

There were emotional scenes in Buenos Aries as Argentina celebrated their first home victory over New Zealand with a 29-23 triumph in front of a raucous crowd.

The Pumas avenged last weekend’s 41-24 Rugby Championship defeat in Cordoba that had seen the All Blacks return to the top of the world rankings.

Juan Martin Gonzalez and Gonzalo Garcia scored tries either side of the break as Argentina ended their 15-match run without a home win against New Zealand that stretched back to their first meeting in 1976.

There were also 13 crucial points from the boot of Santiago Carreras.

Billy Proctor, Fletcher Newell and Samisoni Taukei’aho went over for New Zealand. However, they were left to rue an ill-disciplined performance that saw three players sent to the sin-bin – including two in the space of three minutes shortly before the break.

Damian McKenzie’s last-minute penalty at least secured a losing bonus point for the visitors, who top the table with six points from two games.

Argentina remain bottom but are now level on points with South Africa, who beat Australia 30-22 earlier on Saturday, with all four teams having won one game.

Scotland: Chloe Rollie; Rhona Lloyd, Emma Orr, Lisa Thomson, Francesca McGhie; Helen Nelson, Leia Brebner-Holden; Leah Bartlett, Lana Skeldon,Elliann Clarke, Emma Wassell, Sarah Bonar, Rachel Malcolm (capt), Rachel McLachlan, Evie Gallagher

Replacements: Elis Martin, Molly Wright, Lisa Cockburn, Jade Konkel, Eva Donaldson, Alex Stewart, Caity Mattinson, Beth Blacklock.

Wales: Nel Metcalfe; Lisa Neumann, Hannah Dallavalle, Courtney Keight, Jasmine Joyce-Butchers; Lleucu George, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Donna Rose, Alaw Pyrs, Gwen Crabb, Kate Williams (co-capt), Bethan Lewis, Alex Callender (co-capt).

Replacements: Carys Phillips, Maisie Davies, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Abbie Fleming, Georgia Evans, Seren Lockwood, Kayleigh Powell, Carys Cox.

It was a chastening evening for the Challenge Cup holders, who found Leeds simply too hot to handle.

They were not helped by first-half injuries to forwards Sauaso Sue and Jai Whitbread, which took them out of the contest and, in the case of Sue in particular, looks serious enough to threaten his involvement in the run-in.

Already without the suspended Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Hull KR were on the back foot from the start with Leeds drawing first blood in the 13th minute through Connor, who landed six out of six with the boot.

There did not look to be much on when he took the ball in the middle of the field, but a fend on Whitbread created the space and the Leeds half-back had the pace to go over.

Four minutes later, teenage front-row Cassell struck for his side’s second try, collecting Kallum Watkins’ chip kick, which cannoned off the post.

It was the outstanding young prospect’s second try in two games.

Things went from bad to worse for the Robins when Miller went over for the home side’s third try in the 26th minute. It was a beauty too, with the lightning full-back gliding through a hole as the home side spread the ball, and then stepping off his right foot for his ninth Super League try of the season.

Leeds led a stunned Hull KR 18-0 at the break.

The visitors came out strongly after the break, but winger Joe Burgess was thwarted by a terrific last-ditch tackle from Newman. Then Mikey Lewis, who endured an uncharacteristically error-ridden evening, was held up over the line.

Hull KR claimed a try on the hour as Newman, under pressure for a kick from Jack Broadbent, spilled the ball behind his own line, but referee Jack Smith adjudged he was tackled in the air.

Brodie Croft put Newman in for Leeds’s fourth try with ten minutes left, leaving Tom Davies’s 100th Super League try late as mere consolation.

While the defeat will almost certainly only delay Hull KR’s crowning as League Leaders’ Shield winners, Leeds have put themselves right into the race for second place that brings with it a home semi-final.

The only blot on the evening for Leeds was the loss of captain Ash Handley in the second half to a groin injury.

Benfica beat Bayern Munich, but both sides progress from Group C, while minnows Auckland draw 1-1 with Boca Juniors.

Chelsea have entered the FIFA Club World Cup knockouts after beating Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 and will play their last-16 tie against Benfica, who defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 earlier in searing heat.

Chelsea eased through with a clinical 3-0 win over Esperance at Lincoln Financial Field in Group D in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

New signing Liam Delap opened his account for the club with a deftly taken finish in stoppage time at the end of the first half, just moments after Tosin Adarabioyo had headed the Blues in front.

Teenage talent Tyrique George added Chelsea’s third deep into injury time at the end of the game with a low shot that crept under Esperance goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.

Flamengo, who had already assured themselves of top spot in the section after wins over Chelsea and Esperance, wrapped up their first-round campaign with a 1-1 draw against already eliminated LAFC in Orlando.

Los Angeles forward Denis Bouanga threatened to give the MLS side an upset win in their final game of the tournament after a cool finish in the 84th minute, only for Wallace Yan to equalise for Flamengo two minutes later.

In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th minute.

The German champions, who left the likes of Harry Kane and Michael Olise on the bench at kickoff, were unable to come back in sweltering afternoon conditions in heatwave-hit North Carolina.

Kane and Olise came on at half-time, and Bayern did then look more dangerous, but Leroy Sane was denied when clean through by Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.

A draw would have allowed Bayern to top the section, but a Kimmich effort that found the net was ruled out for offside, and Trubin denied Sane again while Kane mistimed a header late on.

It was Benfica’s first-ever win in 14 competitive meetings with Bayern, and it meant they finished first and will next play Group D runners-up Chelsea in Charlotte in the last 16 on Saturday.

‘Tiny club with a huge heart’

That result meant whatever Boca did against Auckland City in Nashville would not be enough to qualify, but the Argentinian giants were still expected to do better than draw 1-1 against the tournament minnows from New Zealand.

Auckland had lost 10-0 to Bayern and 6-0 to Benfica, but this time they recovered from falling behind in the first half when goalkeeper Nathan Garrow palmed a Lautaro Di Lollo header into his own net.

Christian Gray equalised with a header in the second half to earn the sole representatives from Oceania a remarkable point.

“You can’t say we haven’t learned from the experience of being at the tournament. I’m thrilled for the players and the club; it’s wonderful. It’s something to go home with,” said City coach Paul Posa.

“We’re a tiny club with a huge heart, and that’s evident for all to see.”

The game was the fifth so far at the tournament to be suspended due to a weather warning, with play stopping for almost an hour. When the action restarted, not a drop of rain had fallen at Geodis Park.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, FIFA opened a disciplinary investigation into Pachuca’s Gustavo Cabral after allegations he made a racist comment to Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger.

The incident came towards the end of Sunday’s game between the two teams, which Real won 3-1.

A late scoring binge by Karl-Anthony Towns allowed New York Knicks to beat the Indiana Pacers for the first time this playoff series.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and collected a game-high 15 rebounds to help the New York Knicks notch a crucial 106-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals at Indianapolis.

The big fourth quarter marked just the second time a New York player scored 20 points in a quarter in a playoff game, and in the process, it kept the Knicks in the series. Jalen Brunson set the franchise record with 21 in a quarter against the Pacers in Game 1 of last season’s conference semifinals.

“When I got a chance to do what I do in the fourth, I was going to make sure I seized the opportunity,” Towns said on Sunday. “I just wanted to go there to give our team a chance to win. I’m just happy I was able to do that.”

Towns flirted with overheating when he scored 15 points in the first 3:58 of the quarter to give New York an 87-85 lead. But his offensive explosion was the fuel the Knicks needed.

“KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns] is a very gifted scorer,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said of Towns, who played him for fewer than 28 minutes in Game 2’s 114-109 loss. “He can score three levels – he’s comfortable at the 3-point line, he’s comfortable putting it on the floor, and he’s comfortable playing back to the basket. As long as he stays aggressive, it’s a huge plus for us.”

New York will attempt to even the best-of-seven series at 2-2 on Tuesday night at Indianapolis.

“Unpredictable,” Brunson said of the series. “Obviously, no lead is safe. Both teams are going to fight until the buzzer.”

Brunson scored 23 points despite 6-of-18 shooting but made all 10 free throw attempts for New York, which recovered from a 20-point, second-quarter deficit. OG Anunoby had 16 points and Mikal Bridges added 15 for the third-seeded Knicks.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points and Myles Turner had 19 for fourth-seeded Indiana, which opened the series with two road victories. Pascal Siakam had 17 points and TJ McConnell tallied 12 for the Pacers, who had just 42 second-half points.

“We didn’t do a good enough job of continuing to play fast,” Haliburton said. “I felt I did a poor job of keeping pace in the game, especially in the fourth … A 42-point half isn’t us.”

Knicks’ rally late

New York’s comeback was reminiscent of the Eastern Conference semifinals when the Knicks rallied from 20-point deficits in each of the first two games in Boston to earn victories en route to eventually winning the series in six games.

Indiana led most of the game but needed two free throws apiece from Turner and Siakam to tie the game at 98 with 1:37 left. Brunson hit a runner 20 seconds later to put New York back ahead.

Josh Hart made two free throws with 19.6 seconds left for the Knicks before Haliburton answered with two foul shots with 9.7 seconds left to pull Indiana within 102-100.

Brunson hit two free throws to make it a four-point margin with 8.1 seconds left, and Hart wrapped it up with two of his own with 2.6 seconds remaining.

New York trailed by 15 late in the third quarter and by 80-70 entering the fourth quarter, but Towns came racing out of the gates in the fourth quarter.

A three-point play by Towns gave the Knicks the 87-85 advantage at 8:02 of the quarter, the team’s first lead since the first quarter.

Towns raised his final-quarter tally to 20 points when he drained a 30-foot, step-back 3-pointer while double-covered to give the Knicks a 94-90 lead with 5:10 remaining.

The Knicks made 43.6 percent of their shots in the game and were 11 of 32 from behind the arc.

Indiana shot 44.2 percent from the field, including the shaky 5-of-25 from 3-point range. The Pacers were stellar in transition with a 16-2 edge in fast-break points.

But Indiana were outscored 36-20 in the final quarter when they could not slow Towns.

“He made some big plays for them,” Siakam said of Towns. “We couldn’t get stops when we needed them. And offensively, we didn’t have our usual pop. We didn’t have the ball movement that we usually do.”

The Pacers held a 58-45 halftime lead. Indiana ran off 13 consecutive points in the second quarter to land their biggest lead. Haliburton capped the spurt with a 3-pointer and a steal for an easy dunk to make it 55-35 with 3:20 to go in the half.

Arsenal lift the UEFA Women’s Champions League with a 1-0 win that ended Barcelona’s hopes of a three-peat.

Arsenal upset defending champions Barcelona 1-0 to win the Women’s Champions League for a second time.

Stina Blackstenius scored in the 75th minute after being set up by fellow second-half substitute Beth Mead in the final at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Saturday.

Arsenal’s title came 18 years after it became the first, and still the only, English club to win the top club title in women’s football.

Arsenal’s players embraced on the final whistle and ran to celebrate in front of the red-and-white corner of the stands, which were otherwise mostly dressed in burgundy and blue.

“We believed from the moment our Champions League journey started,” Arsenal striker Alessia Russo told broadcaster TNT Sports. “We knew that we had the capabilities. We knew that we could be good enough. It was just about going and doing it. And we’ve done it!”

Barcelona were considered the heavy favourite. They were aiming for a fourth title in five years and to become the only team other than Lyon to win three consecutive titles. The team led by two-time Ballon d’Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas won nine straight in the competition and blew out Wolfsburg and English champion Chelsea in the knockout rounds.

But Arsenal locked down in defence, except for early in the second half, and created the best chances. Only two superb saves by Barcelona goalkeeper Cata Coll to deny Frida Maanum and Blackstenius kept it scoreless, until Blackstenius finally beat her.

The victory marks an incredible finish to a rocky season for Arsenal, which included coach Jonas Eidevall resigning and being replaced by assistant Renee Seglers.

Since taking over, Seglers steered the team through a spectacular European campaign. Arsenal built its confidence from come-from-behind wins over Real Madrid and eight-time champion Lyon in the knockout rounds before laying low the almighty Barcelona.

The loss was a huge disappointment for the large group of Barcelona fans who filled the stadium that is home to Sporting Lisbon. Blue-and-burgundy shirts and flags outnumbered the red-and-white section, but their calls of “Yes we can!” in the final minutes were not enough to inspire a comeback by the Catalan club.

The closest Barcelona came to a goal was a shot by Claudia Pina that hit the crossbar just after halftime when the Spanish team had its best period. Otherwise, the game was to Arsenal’s liking.

“We are very sorry for all our fans who have come to support us,” Bonmati told Catalunya Radio in the field before the award ceremony. “We will try to do it again.”

Arsenal shook off some early jitters in defence and soon had Barcelona on the back foot. Arsenal’s pressure up the field stopped Barcelona from getting their possession game going, and Arsenal found spaces with long balls down the left flank.

England striker Russo was a rock for Arsenal, using her size to win balls and keep the attack going.

Arsenal thought it went ahead in the 22nd but a video review waived off an own goal by Barcelona’s Irene Paredes when the referee spotted an offside by Frida Maanum. Maanum then went close with a long shot in the 27th that Coll did well to stretch and push over her bar.

Bonmatí was the only Barcelona player who seemed to be in the flow before halftime. Her dribble moves through the middle created a few threats and kept Arsenal on guard in defence. Leah Williamson blocked her best shot deep in the box in the 12th.

Barcelona came out of the restart firing.

Pina hit the woodwork with her chipped shot from a sharp angle in the 49th. Bonmati forced goalie Daphne van Domselaar to get low to parry her shot, and Ona Batlle bombarded the area with three shots from long range.

But Blackstenius set the tone when she had a golden chance when she stole a ball with only Cata to beat, but the goalie got her leg out to block her effort in the 72nd. The Sweden forward would not be denied a second time.