Weekend Review: Champions Elect Liverpool as Ankalaev ends Pereira’s reign

It is now Liverpool’s title to lose, that was the biggest story in the world of sports from last weekend. 

The Reds are now in cruise control in the Premier League following the latest round of games over the weekend. But that’s not the case across the rest of Europe’s top league as there were some shocking results, especially in the German Bundesliga where Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund all suffered shocking defeats at home. 

Meanwhile, in Serie A, Atalanta handed Juventus a heavy loss as La Dea took the Old Lady to school following a comprehensive 4-0 win. 

League leaders Inter Milan had to come back from 2-0 down to beat Monza at home. The win ensured Inter stayed on top of Napoli, who beat Fiorentina in a nervy 2-1 win at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. 

Meanwhile, in the Spanish top-flight, Real Madrid are now level on points with Barcelona after a 2-1 win over Real Valladolid. However, Barcelona have a game in hand as their game against Osasuna was postponed after one of their medical staff passed away. 

Aside from football, Indian Wells kicked off while UFC 313 took center stage on Saturday night in Las Vegas 

With that said, we take a look at some of the biggest talking points from last weekend. 

Liverpool are Champions-Elect 

The countdown is on for Liverpool. The Reds will be champions. It’s just a matter of when and not if after Arne Slot’s men moved 15 points clear at the top. 

Going into the weekend, Liverpool had a commanding 13-point lead over their nearest rivals, Arsenal. But it got better after the weekend as Arsenal dropped points in their match against Manchester United. 

Liverpool had moved 16 points clear a day earlier following a routine 3-1 win over relegation candidates Southampton. The win put pressure on Arsenal to get a win at United to keep their fading title hopes alive. 

However, it was a familiar story for the Gunners as they dropped points to a United side struggling for results. 

Bruno Fernandes put the Red Devils up with a superb freekick just before halftime. Although Declan Rice restored parity for Mikel Arteta’s men in the second half, the Gunners could not get the winner. 

As a result, Liverpool moved 15 points clear, although the Reds have played a game more than their rivals. 

Nonetheless, Slot’s men need just five wins from their remaining games to confirm themselves as champions. They may not even need up to that if the Gunners keep dropping points. 

Magomed ends Pereira’s reign 

UFC 313 was the main attraction on Saturday night, with Magomed Ankalaev taking on Alex Pereira in a Light Heavyweight title clash. 

Pereira was the boogeyman of the light heavyweight division, going into the fight. But Ankalaev also came into the fight without fear, fighting on the front foot. 

The Russian put pressure on Pereira, making life difficult for the Brazilian to land any of his trademark shots. While nothing major happened in the fight, Ankalaev was more aggressive and he got the reward for it as he was crowned the king of the division after scoring a unanimous victory. 

More woes for Djokovic 

When the year started, Novak Djokovic would not have envisaged that the first three months of the year would be like this. The former world No. 1 is still searching for his first title of the year after suffering an early exit at Indian Wells. 

The seventh seed suffered his third consecutive defeat as Dutch lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp pulled off a shock victory. 

Djokovic did start well, taking the first set 6-2. But Zandschulp stormed back to take the last two sets for a 6-2 3-6 6-1 win.