He did walk towards the Kop to deliver a wave to the Liverpool fans who still adore him after applauding his own supporters, but this was a chastening night for Alonso, a night for the home supporters not to wonder about what might have been, but to revel in what they have under Slot.

Alonso did try to impart local knowledge to his players, constantly gesturing with his palms flat towards the floor calling for calm and composure. It worked a treat in a deadly dull first half but lost its impact as Liverpool ran riot once they had broken Bayer Leverkusen’s resistance.

Slot has made an outstanding start at Liverpool, his almost under-the-radar approach reflected in his polite celebrations after the final whistle blows, in sharp contrast to the fist-pumping antics and wild animation of the man who went before him.

If Slot has one issue to address, it might be that he should give his half-time team talk before the kick-off as Liverpool, for their outstanding record this season, can be slow starters.

Liverpool put themselves in a tough spot as they trailed Brighton at half-time at Anfield on Saturday before winning 2-1, once again looking listless and lifeless until the spark was provided by Diaz’s deadlock-breaker after 61 minutes.

In all competitions this season, Liverpool have scored 22 goals in the second half compared to 15 in the first, having 147 shots in the first half against 97 in the first. They have had 66 shots on target in the second half compared to 44 in the first.

Liverpool followed the pattern again here as Bayer Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky was untroubled for 45 minutes before suddenly coming under the siege that brought four second-half goals.

Slot said: “I don’t know if it was that much to do with intensity but we took more risk. They overloaded the midfield a lot and we adjusted and took the risk to play one v one all over. And you also sometimes have to give credit to the opposition.

“I would love to see this from the start, but the other team then normally has intensity too. What I like is until now we keep producing this energy and keep going to a higher gear. Preferably we would start like this from the start but, as I said, we have to give credit to the opponent.”

Alonso was certainly in the mood to give credit to Liverpool, saying: “It is early to tell but I can see Liverpool have a very good balance, a very complete team. They work the 11 players and have the power to keep a clean sheet, which is important in the Champions League. In the Premier League, let’s see. It is early to tell but it is looking good for them.

“The result is painful. The performance is more painful. We lacked some power and consistency. Defeat, accept it, congratulate Liverpool and move on. I will try to separate the pain from the result from the feelings of coming back and having love. I’m really thankful to have that reception.”

Few could have a more seamless transition than Slot, with no Liverpool fans pining for the possibilities offered by Alonso any longer.

Slot does not agree that things have been easy, however, saying: “Not at all. If you only look at results, but Brighton was a difficult one, we were 1-0 behind and had to fight really hard. We have to play hard and work with really high intensity.

“Anfield is the best place to play, so every team that comes here is on the top of their game. If we can keep producing high intensity then we will keep winning and that is what we want.”

And Slot’s Liverpool continue to give Liverpool’s fans exactly what they want.

The UFC’s return to Madison Square Garden, and the massively hyped heavyweight championship main event between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic is less than two weeks away.

Jones and Miocic are set to battle for the UFC heavyweight title to cap off UFC 309 on Nov. 16 in New York City. “Bones” puts his belt on the line for the first time since capturing his second divisional title at UFC 285 in March 2023, while Miocic competes for the first time in nearly four years.

During Saturday’s UFC Edmonton event, the UFC released a new promo video hyping up the Jones vs. Miocic championship encounter. Watch the video below.

Miocic seeks his first victory since defeating Daniel Cormier in their trilogy bout at UFC 252 in August 2020. The multi-time heavyweight champion lost the title in his next fight, suffering a brutal knockout at the hands of Francis Ngannou at UFC 260.

Jones makes the walk to the octagon for the just the second time since retaining the light heavyweight title — which he vacated shortly after to move to heavyweight — in a controversial decision against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020.

NASCAR has penalized the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota of Bubba Wallace, the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Austin Dillon, and the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Ross Chastain, due to what the Series has deemed potential race manipulation after the review of Sunday’s radio communications of those teams during the Martinsville Cup race.

The penalties are the same for the all three drivers and teams across the board: A $100,000 fine, the loss of 50 driver and owner points, and one-race suspensions for crew chiefs, spotters and key team executives.

A closer look at how the penalties impact each team

23XI Racing team executive Dave Rogers, No. 23 crew chief Bootie Barker, and spotter Freddie Kraft have all been suspended. The points penalty drops Wallace from 17th to 18th in the championship standings.

Trackhouse team executive Tony Lunders, No. 1 crew chief Phil Surgen, and spotter Brandon McReynolds have been suspended for the championship finale as well. Chastain’s points position does not change as he remains 19th. 

At RCR, team executive Keith Rodden, No. 3 crew chief Justin Alexander, and spotter Brandon Benesch have been suspended for one race. The loss of 50 points affects Dillon the most, dropping him from 28th to 33rd in the driver standings.

All three teams will appeal. 23XI released the following statement, saying they are “aware of the penalty issued by NASCAR stemming from Sunday’s race at Martinsville. We feel strongly that we did not commit any violations during Sunday’s race and we will appeal NASCAR’s ruling.”

What did they do? 

Now, these punishments come as a result of what happened in the closing laps of the Round of 8 elimination race. As the checkered flag approached at Martinsville, Christopher Bell was trapped a lap down unable to gain any positions. William Byron was near the front, but fading on old tires. Only one point separated them with Byron having the edge.

Dillon and Chastain formed a rolling roadblock of sorts behind Byron, running side-by-side and never truly attempting to pass him. More importantly, they prevented anyone else from challenging the No. 24. At one point, the No. 3 team openly asked if the No. 1 knew “the deal” before instructing Dillon’s crew chief to inform Chastain’s crew chief.

While this was happening, the Toyota of Wallace was about half-a-lap ahead of Bell. “God forbid if we don’t help a f****** JGR car,” he radioed to his team. As the situation grew more dire for Bell, Wallace abruptly slowed, reporting a possible tire issue despite later observations from his spotter that all of the tires were fully inflated. Wallace’s pace fluctuating wildly but he remained on the track. On the final lap, he dropped nearly three seconds off the pace and Bell caught him entering the final corner on the final lap.

Bell got the point he needed — he was in the Championship 4 — for 27 minutes before NASCAR penalized him for the accidental wall-ride that followed his pass on Wallace.

RUBEN AMORIM gave Manchester United fans a tantalising glimpse into the future as his Sporting side thrashed City 4-1 in the Champions League.

The occasion began in a raucous atmosphere, with Sporting fans waving goodbye to their beloved Man Utd-bound manager in what was his final home game in charge.

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The home faithful unfurled a huge banner reading “Obrigado” – Portuguese for “thank you” – ahead of kick-off.

And after tonight’s performance, it’s easy to see how Amorim left such a mark.

Sporting actually got off to a ropey start, with Phil Foden giving City a fourth-minute lead.

The side Amorim has built in Lisbon is resilient, however, and after weathering City’s storm they came roaring back to win 4-1.

Viktor Gyokeres grabbed the headlines by scoring a stunning hat-trick – taking his season tally to an astonishing 23 goals in just 17 games.

The Swede’s numbers would make United’s current forwards Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund blush.

But how has Amorim given the former Brighton and Coventry star such a platform on which to shine?

The 39-year-old has generally favoured a 3-4-3 formation with Sporting, although tonight’s average positions show that his system turned into more of a 3-5-2, or even 3-4-1-1 – with Francisco Trincao, formerly of Wolves and Barcelona, playing off Gyokeres.

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How Amorim will be able to introduce his three-at-the-back system into the Premier League will be fascinating.

After Antonio Conte‘s Chelsea won the Premier League in swashbuckling style using a back three in 2017, the system suddenly became all the rage.

Even Arsene Wenger, after more than 20 years of deploying a back four at Arsenal, dabbled with it during his final season at the Emirates.

These days, however, back threes have become more scarce.

In fact, none of last season’s top 13 used it as their primary formation.

Despite Sporting’s left wing-back Maxi Araujo grabbing a goal on the night, it was actually right wing-back Geovany Quenda who consistently got further forward.

TEENAGE SENSATION

The Guinea-Bissau-born wonderkid is just 17-years-old but has already made himself a regular in Sporting’s first team.

As a left-footer playing on the right, Quenda cut inside to great effect as he created Sporting’s equaliser.

His brilliant through-ball found Gyokeres who, having fluffed an earlier one-on-one, made no mistake when through on Ederson‘s goal for a second time.

This sort of chance was typical of the service Gyokeres received all night, with Sporting consistently forcing turnovers with their solid base.

BUILDING A PLATFORM

Irrespective of conceding a harsh penalty in the second-half, which Erling Haaland went on to miss anyway, 20-year-old centre-back Ousmane Diomande was impressive at the heart of Sporting’s defence.

While midfielders Hidemasa Morita and Morten Hjulmand offered excellent protection and were rarely far from the scene when Sporting’s back line needed help.

As soon as Sporting won the ball back, Gyokeres would be sent on his way.

It was Araujo’s turn to cause havoc from the left wing-back position right at the start of the second period, the Uruguayan converting beyond Ederson after a brilliant run by Pedro Goncalves.

Gyokeres then showed coolness to convert two penalties and complete his hat-trick.

Amorim will have another crack at Pep Guardiola in April, as United host City at Old Trafford in the Portuguese’s first Manchester derby.

When he begins work at Carrington on Monday, United’s new boss will seek to begin developing a Red Devils team that can emulate what Sporting did to City tonight.

Tracy Cortez vs. Miranda Maverick is off once again, this time due to injury.

Scheduled for UFC on ESPN 63 in Tampa, Fla., Cortez (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has withdrawn from the bout against Maverick (14-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) due to injury. The event takes place Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena.

Two people with knowledge of the situation recently informed MMA Junkie of the change but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Cortez and Maverick were originally scheduled to fight July 20 in Las Vegas. However, when Maycee Barber fell out of a July 13 main event in Denver, Cortez was slotted in against Rose Namajunas.

In her first promotional main event, Cortez lost to Namajunas by unanimous decision. One week later, Maverick defeated fill-in Dione Barbosa by unanimous decision.

While no replacement for Cortez has been locked yet, Maverick is expected to remain on the card against a different opponent.

With the change, the current UFC on ESPN 63 lineup includes:

• Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley
• Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
• Dustin Jacoby vs. Vitor Petrino
• Tracy Cortez vs. Miranda Maverick
• Josefine Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
• Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
• Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
• Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva
• Ottman Azaitar vs. Michael Johnson
• Daniel Marcos vs. Adrian Yanez

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.

Denver Nuggets power forward Aaron Gordon is expected to miss multiple weeks with a strained right calf, two people familiar with the injury told The Associated Press.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the extent of the injury hasn’t been announced. Gordon left Monday’s win over Toronto in the first quarter and didn’t return.

His absence is a blow for a team that’s been without guard Jamal Murray (concussion protocol) for the last two games.

Gordon is averaging 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds this season while playing 30 minutes a night.

The 29-year-old Gordon signed a four-year, $133 million contract extension just before the start of the season. He was an integral piece when the franchise captured its first NBA championship in 2022-23.

Gordon was originally drafted by Orlando with the fourth overall pick in 2014. He was traded to the Nuggets in March 2021 and has become a fan favorite with his play around the rim and his energizing dunks.

Before the season, Gordon switched jersey numbers to No. 32 in honor his brother, Drew, who died last spring in an auto accident in Oregon.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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