The Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders are one game away from the Super Bowl, while Liverpool remain on course to win the Premier League title.
It is not a Monday without our customary weekend review of what happened in sports, and what a weekend it was.
With the Australian Open, NFL playoffs and European football all going on, fans were treated to an unforgettable weekend of sports.
Speaking of the Australian Open, we are gradually getting closer to the championship match in both the women’s singles and men’s singles competitions.
The usual suspects are all in the quarter-finals. In the women’s section, defending champion and world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka is in the quarter-finals along with Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.
Sabalenka will meet Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while Gauff will face Paulo Badosa. Swiatek, meanwhile, will take on Emma Navarro.
In the men’s section, it does not get bigger than Novak Djokovic against Carlos Alcaraz in the last eight. While defending champion and world No.1 Jannik Sinner’s clash against home favourite Alex de Minaur is also exciting, it does not move the needle like Djokovic’s blockbuster against Alcaraz. As for the other quarter-final games, Alexander Zverev will take on Tommy Paul while Lorenzo Sonego face Ben Shelton.
But while the Australian Open delivered, last weekend was a football weekend. Whether you are American or European, football was the major headline last weekend.
From the NFL to the Premier League, football won last weekend. Let’s take a look at the talking points.
The NFL divisional playoff round took place last weekend, with just two games left to confirm the Super Bowl teams. The first match of the four games saw the Kansas City Chiefs end the Houston Texans run following a 23-14 win on Saturday.
However, the biggest story of the day was the Washington Commanders’ stunning upset of the Detroit Lions. Going into the game, the Lions were not just the favourites to win but also the favourites to win the Super Bowl.
However, the Commanders, who had upset the Vikings, did not stick to the script as they claimed a stunning 45-31 win to reach the NFC championship game. Star player Jayden Daniels played a major part in the win as he threw for two touchdowns, while fellow rookie Mike Sainristil had two interceptions. Daniels finished the game having gone 22-of-31 for 299 yards and two touchdowns while adding 51 yards on the ground.
The Lions’ cause was not helped by an offence that had five turnovers, including one in the final thirty seconds to ice the game.
Following the Commanders’ win, attention turned to Sunday’s games. The Philadelphia Eagles were up first against the Los Angeles Rams, with the Eagles winning 28-22.
But the marquee game was no. 2 seed Buffalo Bills against no.3 seed Baltimore Ravens, and what a game it was. The Bills progressed to the AFC championship against the Chiefs after a 27-25 win. It was a tale of different fortunes for the two star quarterbacks as Bills’ Josh Allen rushed for two touchdowns, while Ravens’ Lamar Jackson coughed up two turnovers. However, things could have been different for the Ravens if Mark Andrews had not dropped a two-point conversion pass from Jackson after the quarterback’s second touchdown pass of the night, a 24-yarder to Isaiah Likely, pulled Baltimore to within two of Buffalo.
Away from American football to what the English call real football. Liverpool had a dream weekend as they strengthened their lead at the top. Having dropped points in back-to-back games, the pressure was getting to Liverpool going into the game against Brentford.
The Reds knew anything other than a win would give Arsenal a boost in the title race. Arne Slot’s men did start well but could not find a breakthrough in the opening half. The second half followed the same pattern until Darwin Nunez struck a dagger into Brentford's hearts with a 90th-minute winner.
Minutes later, the Uruguayan scored again to turn what looked like a bad situation into a positive result for the Reds. However, it did not end there as Arsenal blew a two-goal lead against Aston Villa later in the day to cap off a perfect day for the Reds, who are now six points clear with a game in hand.
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