Premier League leader Liverpool twice came from behind with 10 men to draw with Fulham 2-2, yet dropped points for the second straight match to give hope to its title rivals on Saturday.
Arsenal failed to take advantage.
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Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez celebrates after teammate Jhon Duran scores a goal against Nottingham Forest during a Premier League soccer match at the City Ground, Saturday Dec 14, 2024, in Nottingham, England. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, right, makes a save against Nottingham Forest's Nicolas Dominguez (16) during a Premier League soccer match at the City Ground, Saturday Dec 14, 2024, in Nottingham, England. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Leicester City's manager Ruud van Nistelrooy gestures, during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Leicester City, at St. James' Park, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, left, celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game, during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Leicester City, at St. James' Park, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Ipswich Town's Conor Chaplin, second left, celebrates his side's first goal after Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matt Doherty scores an own goal, during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich Town, at Molineux Stadium, in Wolverhampton, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Nigel French/PA via AP)
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Mario Lemina reacts to a misplaced pass, during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich Town, at Molineux Stadium, in Wolverhampton, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
Arsenal's Thomas Partey, centre, challenges for the ball with Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Everton's goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's Gabriel reacts after the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Fulham, at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Andrew Robertson, right, duels for the ball with Fulham's Harry Wilson during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Fulham, at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Diogo Jota, left, celebrates with Liverpool's Darwin Nunez after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Fulham, at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
A 0-0 draw at home to lowly Everton left third-placed Arsenal still six points behind Liverpool and will go down as a big opportunity missed.
Undermined by Andy Robertson's 17th-minute red card, Liverpool did well to earn a point at Anfield — but could have pulled off an unlikely win after sustained late pressure following Diogo Jota's equalizer in the 86th.
“I don’t think I could’ve asked for more from my players," Liverpool manager Arne Slot said.
Fulham led for the first time after Andreas Pereira's 11th-minute volley deflected into the net off Robertson, who was sent off six minutes later for bringing down Harry Wilson as the last man and denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
Cody Gakpo leveled just after halftime by heading in a cross from Mohamed Salah, who registered his 100th assist for Liverpool in all competitions.
Substitute Rodrigo Muniz's flick put Fulham back ahead in the 76th, only for Jota to run onto Darwin Nunez's pass, turn his marker and drive home a finish from the edge of the area.
Liverpool drew at Newcastle 3-3 in its last league game.
Arsenal has also drawn two games in a row, after a 1-1 at Fulham last weekend, and hasn't scored from open play in its last three league matches.
Second-placed Chelsea hosts Brentford on Sunday and can move two points behind Liverpool with a win.
Wolverhampton manager Gary O’Neil will do well to survive this latest damaging defeat.
Ipswich beat Wolves 2-1 thanks to Jack Taylor’s winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time in a match between teams in the relegation zone, though only one of the coaches came into it under real pressure.
O’Neil has led Wolves to only two victories in the league this season, and three since March. The slide under O’Neil began at the end of last season when Wolves won just one of their last 10 league games after being knocked out of the FA Cup in the quarterfinals by second-tier Coventry.
On Monday, after losing at West Ham 2-1, O’Neil expressed his disappointment at losing the connection with Wolves’ fans and also aimed some criticism at the club’s owners for sanctioning the sale of many of its top players over the last two years.
There were boos at halftime and fulltime at Molineux, with Wolves staying in next-to-last place and dropping three points behind third-to-last Ipswich.
There was also some post-match chaos when Wolves players and staff argued between themselves and Ipswich players on the field. Amid it all, Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri was shown a second yellow card.
Ruud van Nistelrooy fell to his first loss with Leicester — and it was a big one.
Leicester was thrashed 4-0 at Newcastle, for which Jacob Murphy scored twice and Alexander Isak nodded in his seventh goal of the campaign. Bruno Guimaraes netted the other goal.
Van Nistelrooy, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker, was brought in to replace the fired Steve Cooper and earned a win and a draw — both at home — in his first two games in charge.
Emi Martinez's wonder save for Aston Villa proved to be in vain.
In the 60th minute, the Argentina international was standing slightly off his line as a header by Nottingham Forest’s Nicolas Dominguez went past him. Martinez stuck out his left hand behind him and somehow managed to drop the ball down onto the ground and scoop it away from off the line in the same motion.
Villa went ahead three minutes later through Jhon Duran, only for goals by Nikola Milenković in the 87th and Anthony Elanga in the third minute of stoppage time to clinch a 2-1 win for Forest.
Forest moved up to fourth place above Manchester City, which hosts Manchester United in the derby on Sunday.
Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez celebrates after teammate Jhon Duran scores a goal against Nottingham Forest during a Premier League soccer match at the City Ground, Saturday Dec 14, 2024, in Nottingham, England. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, right, makes a save against Nottingham Forest's Nicolas Dominguez (16) during a Premier League soccer match at the City Ground, Saturday Dec 14, 2024, in Nottingham, England. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Leicester City's manager Ruud van Nistelrooy gestures, during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Leicester City, at St. James' Park, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, left, celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game, during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Leicester City, at St. James' Park, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Ipswich Town's Conor Chaplin, second left, celebrates his side's first goal after Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matt Doherty scores an own goal, during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich Town, at Molineux Stadium, in Wolverhampton, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Nigel French/PA via AP)
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Mario Lemina reacts to a misplaced pass, during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich Town, at Molineux Stadium, in Wolverhampton, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
Arsenal's Thomas Partey, centre, challenges for the ball with Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Everton's goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's Gabriel reacts after the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at Emirates Stadium in London, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Fulham, at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Andrew Robertson, right, duels for the ball with Fulham's Harry Wilson during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Fulham, at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Diogo Jota, left, celebrates with Liverpool's Darwin Nunez after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Fulham, at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Top diplomats from the United States, the Arab League and Turkey met in Jordan on Saturday to discuss how to assist Syria ’s transition after the fall of Bashar Assad's government a week ago. No Syrian representatives attended.
The collapse of the Assad family’s more than half-century of rule has sparked new fears of instability in a region already shaken by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and hostilities between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah despite a tenuous ceasefire.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said American officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian insurgent group that led the overthrow of Assad’s government, but the group continues to be designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and others.
The insurgent leader in an interview with Syrian TV didn't mention contact with the U.S., but he warned Israel about the hundreds of airstrikes it has carried out in Syria in the past week.
The U.S. is also making a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the war has plunged more than 2 million Palestinians into a severe humanitarian crisis.
Here's the latest:
BEIRUT — A Syrian war monitor and a citizen journalist say gunmen attacked members of a Syrian insurgent group in the country’s coastal region, killing or wounding 15 of them Saturday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said loyalists to former President Bashar Assad killed and wounded members of the Failaq al-Sham group, which took part in the attacks that led to the overthrow of Assad a week ago.
The coastal region is home to many members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect.
Citizen journalist Taher al-Omar said Failaq al-Sham members were ambushed near the town of Jableh by “sectarian gunmen.” He said several were killed, without giving details.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Witnesses and medical officials are reporting more Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
Four people were killed late Saturday in an airstrike on a tent in the central city of Deir al-Balah, according to an Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Elsewhere, Palestinian medical officials said an airstrike killed at least seven people, including a woman and her baby, in Gaza City. The strike hit the Majda Wasilla school, which shelters many displaced families, according to Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the bodies.
Ataf Saadat, a woman sheltering in the school, said the baby killed was two days old. “There were those who were burned, and those who were cut up, and the rubble was on top of them,” Saadat said.
Israel’s military said it struck Hamas fighters at a command center in a compound previously used as a school.
A joint statement after a ministerial meeting on Syria's future is calling for all parties to cease hostilities there and expresses support for a locally led transitional political process.
The statement was issued Saturday after a meeting in Jordan by several Arab nations, the United States, Turkey, the European Union and others. It called for preventing the reemergence of extremist groups in Syria and ensuring the security and safe destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles. It also expressed full support for Syria’s territorial integrity.
A separate statement issued by Arab foreign ministers called for U.N.-supervised elections based on a new constitution approved by Syrians. That statement also condemned Israel’s incursion into the buffer zone with Syria and adjacent sites over the past week as a “heinous occupation” and demands the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants says the fall of Bashar Assad in Syria has cut a main supply line for the group but it can find other ways to bring in weapons.
Hezbollah was a main backer of Assad and sent thousands of fighters to Syria over the past decade. And for decades, Hezbollah relied on Syria as a channel for weapons from the militant group's main backer, Iran.
In his first public comments in the week since Assad’s fall, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem in a televised speech Saturday said Hezbollah has lost the military supply line through Syria but the new authority there might reinstate the route. Otherwise, he said, “we might find other ways.”
Kassem also said Hezbollah hopes the new authority in Syria will consider Israel an enemy.
DAMASCUS, Syria — The head of the Syrian insurgent group that led the overthrow of Bashar Assad's government says they are not about to enter a conflict with Israel. But Ahmad al-Sharaa in his first public comments on Israel in the week since Assad's fall said “the pretexts that Israel uses have ended" for its airstrikes inside Syria in recent days.
Al-Sharaa said “the Israelis have crossed the rules of engagement” in his interview with Syrian TV on Saturday. About 400 Israeli airstrikes in the past days have destroyed much of the Syrian army's assets.
Al-Sharaa leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. The excerpts released from his interview did not address contact with the United States, which on Saturday said had been in direct communication with HTS, which it designated a foreign terrorist organization years ago.
The HTS leader did say the new authorities in Damascus are in contact with Western embassies, and that authorities have a plan to start reconstruction and development in Syria. He did not give details.
He added that the authorities have given Russia — a key backer of Assad — an opportunity to reconsider relations with the Syrian people, and that authorities are not hostile to the people of Iran, another Assad backer.
AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says American officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that led the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s government a week ago, but the group continues to be designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and others.
Blinken is the first U.S. official to publicly confirm contacts between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which ousted Assad. Speaking at a news conference in Jordan, Blinken would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the U.S. to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medical officials say at least 10 people were killed Saturday in an Israeli airstrike that apparently targeted a municipal meeting in central Gaza.
The officials said the strike hit the municipality complex for Deir al-Balah city as officials from central and southern Gaza met to coordinate how to receive vehicles provided by the United Arab Emirates.
The complex includes a building used by the Hamas-run interior ministry and is surrounded by a public market, which was crowded when the strike occurred.
Among the dead were a mother and her 5-year-old daughter, according to al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital and an AP journalist at the morgue. The dead also include Diab al-Garu, head of the Deir al-Balah municipality, the hospital said.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas fighter in a compound it said was used to plan attacks.
ISTANBUL — Turkey reopened its embassy in Syria on Saturday, becoming the first country to do so since the end of Bashar Assad’s rule last weekend. The Syrian insurgents who overthrew Assad had received vital help from Turkey.
The Turkish flag was raised above the compound in Damascus for the first time since diplomatic ties were cut in 2012. The embassy suspended operations 12 years ago due to insecurity during the Syrian civil war.
Several countries maintained diplomatic ties with Assad's government during the 13-year conflict, while others reopened their diplomatic missions in recent years as they sought to normalize relations.
AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says broad consensus exists among regional partners that Syria’s new government must be inclusive, must respect women and minority rights, reject terrorism and secure and destroy suspected Assad-era chemical weapons stockpiles.
Blinken is wrapping up a three-country regional tour in Aqaba after visiting Iraq, Turkey and Jordan once already this week.
Earlier Saturday in a meeting with U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson, Blinken said he expected to talk about the challenges ahead for Syria and “our determination to work together to support a Syrian-led transition where the United Nations plays a critical role, particularly when it comes to the provision of assistance, to the protection of minorities.”
Pederson agreed, saying: “What is so critical in Syria is that we see a credible and inclusive political process that brings together all communities in Syria. And the second point is that we need to make sure that state institutions do not collapse, and that we get in humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible. And if we can achieve that, perhaps there is a new opportunity for the Syrian people.”
In announcing Saturday’s meetings, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the ministers would “discuss ways to support a comprehensive political process led by Syrians to achieve a transitional process,” which “ensures the reconstruction of Syrian state institutions, and preserves Syria’s unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty, security, stability, and the rights of all its citizens.”
A Syrian fighter from rebel group, observes a prison room at the security detention center called Palestine Branch in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves after delivering a statement to the press after the meeting with the foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Syria in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
A girl plays atop a tank on display near the Syrian side of the Quneitra crossing, between Israel and Syria, as seen from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Syrian naval vessels are seen destroyed by an Israeli airstrike last week in the port of Latakia, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers a statement to the press after the meeting with the foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Syria in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
A Syrian fighter from rebel group, fires towards a poster at the entrance of the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, which pictures the late Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son the ouster Syrian president Bashar Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A Syrian fighter from rebel group, uses his knife to tear a poster at the entrance to the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, which shows the ouster Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A torn posters shows the late Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son the ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad, that were set at the entrance of the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, left, and Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani during a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Syria in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, left, speaks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Syria in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
A Syrian fighter from rebel group, fires towards a poster at the entrance of the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, which pictures the late Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son the ouster Syrian president Bashar Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken browses a phone while riding in a helicopter on the way back from the US Embassy headquarters to Baghdad airport ahead of his departure on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken greets officials after disembarking a US military aircraft in Jordan's Red Sea resort of Aqaba, on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
The United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen speaks during his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
The United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen speaks during his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with the United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, right, in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during his meeting with the United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Syria in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba, Saturday Dec. 14, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
