Mason Greenwood struck a fine second-half equaliser as Fenerbahce fought back to draw 1-1 at home to Lyon in Tuesday’s Champions League play-off first leg.

Lois Openda headed Lyon in front with his first goal for the French club in Istanbul, but Greenwood levelled shortly after the break to leave the tie evenly poised.

Norwegian side Viking Stavanger, competing in the Champions League for the first time in 34 years, boosted their hopes of reaching the league phase for the first time by rallying from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Dinamo Zagreb.

Read moreChampions League: Lyon defeat Prague and await Fenerbahçe in playoffs

Dion Beljo and Mateo Lisica struck inside the opening 10 minutes for Zagreb, but Viking, who edged Bodo/Glimt to the Norwegian title last season, pulled level by half-time through goals from Peter Christiansen and Zlatko Tripic.

Levski Sofia and AEK Athens drew 0-0 in Bulgaria.

Scottish champions Celtic enter the competition on Wednesday when they host Austrian club LASK in the first leg.

The second legs are scheduled for August 25-26.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Zoji Edoc: Ace —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Defending champion Team North broke out of the proverbial gates as hard as it could on Tuesday by winning the first three matches and going on to take a 7-1/2-4-1/2 lead after the Fourball format that got the ICTSI Elite Junior PGT Championship going at Pueblo de Oro in Cagayan de Oro.

Zoji Edoc highlighted the hot start by draining an ace from 80 yards with a 54-degree wedge on the 13th, as his team-up with Kenzo Tan rallied from a hole down to take a 3&2 win over South’s Stephen Clementer and Darren Ong in the boys’ 7-10.

That victory was sandwiched by Zach Guico and Kingston Ching carving out a 5&4 win over Ethan Lago and Lucas Revilleza in the first boys’ 7-10, before Chan Ahn and Vito Sarines made it three straight with a 6&4 thumping of the Ken Guillermo-Mico Woo tandem.

“The [lopsided result] was really unexpected,” said North coach Joey Anciano. “When we saw South’s lineup, I wasn’t expecting anything. I just told the kids to play, trust their teammates, and they did.”

A three-point lead is big, especially this one that came on the road for the North as the Southerners couldn’t take advantage of their familiarity with the rolling layout and will play catch-up for the second straight year as the Foursomes format will be used on Wednesday.

“[That’s] really big for an away team. We traveled to an unfamiliar territory, so we were just aiming for at least a tie today, which would have been good,” Anciano added. “We’re very fortunate.”

Last year, the North zoomed out to an 8-4 lead and were never really threatened the rest of the week at The Country Club in Laguna.

The first South win came courtesy of 14-year-old wonder Ralph Batican and Jared Saban, who pulled out a 4&2 victory over Javie Bautista and Jacob Casuga in the other boys’ 11-14 match.

The victory of Shin Suzuki and Santi Asuncion in one of the boys’ premier 15-18 matches over Alexis Nailga and Clement Ordeneza, 4&2, put an exclamation point on the Day 1 rout.

One South win that was worth mentioning was the 2&1 win of Princess Zaragosa and Tashanah Balangauan over National Strokeplay champion Lisa Sarines and Rafa Anciano in the girls’ 15-18. INQ

A narrow, scrambling victory at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday saw Steel Will overcome a challenging race, much to the relief of his supporters who had backed him heavily.

The three-year-old colt showed significant fight when put under pressure, ultimately doing his best work at the finish line to claim the Kia Ora Bloodlines to Headlines Handicap over 1300 metres.

Following the win, prominent trainer Chris Waller detailed his ambitious spring carnival plans for the progressive galloper.

“Steel Will is a nice, progressive horse,” Waller commented. “He is well bred and it is always good to have horses with (owner) Sir Owen Glenn and he has a good one here.”

Steel Will, the $1.65 favourite, was expertly ridden by James McDonald to a neck victory over the closing Savvy Diamond ($13), with Plagiarism ($5.50) finishing a further three-quarters of a length behind in third.

Waller acknowledged that it wasn’t the “perfect placement” to debut Steel Will in Sydney Saturday class so soon after his maiden win at Wyong less than two weeks prior.

“He was on a quick back-up and the rain has just come so this was a stepping stone for the colt,” Waller stated. “It’s good to get some prizemoney in the back as it will make it easier to get him into the better races.”

The colt, a son of I Am Invincible and out of Pittsburgh Flyer, is a brother to the multiple Group 1-winning mare September Run, whom Waller also trained.

“I trained his sister September Run and she might have been the Champion Three-year-old of her year,” Waller said. “Bearing in mind Steel Will is September Run’s brother, we will probably keep him to shorter races.

“We will look at either the Run To The Rose here or go to Melbourne for the Poseidon Stakes at Flemington. If we are thinking of the Coolmore it would be good to give him some experience up the Flemington straight.

“Steel Will has got the breeding and he’s got the looks so he has a lot going for him.”

Those looking for the online bookmakers would have experienced a tense finish before the favourite Steel Will ultimately prevailed.

Former Ipswich Town striker Darren Bent has predicted Liverpool to finish in the top five in the upcoming 2026-27 Premier League season, which kicks off on Friday (August 21) with holders Arsenal taking on Coventry City.

The Gunners won their first top-flight title in 22 years last season, winning five straight games to finish seven points clear of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. It marked their first success in the league since their ‘Invincibles’ triumph under Arsene Wenger all the way back in 2004.

Mikel Arteta’s side have made reinforcements during the summer, as have their primary challengers. However, Bent reckons the Gunners could go back-to-back in the English top flight for the first time, saying on talkSPORT:

“Arsenal 1, Liverpool 2. “I think Andoni [Iraola] will land straight away. Chelsea 3rd, City 4th, Man United 5th.”

Among the top five Bent mentioned, three clubs have brought in new managers: The Reds have appointed Andoni Iraola; Manchester City have given their reins to former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, while Chelsea will be managed by former Reds midfielder and Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso.

Manchester United, who appointed Michael Carrick permanently in the summer after impressing in an interim capacity since joining in January, have been tipped to finish in the UEFA Champions League places but might not contend for the title.

What’s next for Liverpool?

Liverpool have had a mixed pre-season as they started life under new boss Andoni Iraola, who has arrived from AFC Bournemouth to replace Arne Slot, who left at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

The Reds commenced their preparations with a 4-2 victory over Sunderland in Nashville last month before beating Wrexham 1-0 at New York City. However, their US tour ended with a 4-2 defeat to Leeds United in Chicago, squandering a two-goal lead by shipping in four goals in the final 30 minutes.

Back home, they failed to return to winning ways, losing 3-2 to AS Monaco before going into the new season with a win, beating Cesc Fabregas’ Como 2-0 in their final friendly before their Premier League campaign opener against at Newcastle United on Saturday (August 23).