Author: INDEPENDENT

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter When Jurgen Klopp’s reign is over, when they remember the great European nights at Anfield in his tenure, a 4-0 scoreline will spring to mind. Barcelona remains the touchstone and, lacking the same sense of jeopardy, a second leg against Sparta Prague was never going to rival it. Yet there was nevertheless something remarkable in seeing Liverpool 4-0 up so soon: only one team had ever been four goals to the good after just 14 minutes of…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USUniversity of Missouri student Riley Strain was out with his fraternity brothers in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday 8 March when he disappeared.He’d been asked to leave a bar the Delta Chi group were hanging out in, shortly before 9.45pm, and said he was going back to their hotel.He hasn’t been seen since.Here is everything we know so far.What happened to Riley Strain?Riley Strain was last seen wearing this shirt while on a night out in Nashville,…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi is targeting qualifying for Europe via the Premier League after his side were knocked out of the Europa League by Roma.The damage was done for Brighton in last week’s 4-0 defeat in Rome and Danny Welbeck’s stunning solo strike on Thursday night – to hand them a 1-0 second-leg win – was not enough to extend their maiden European campaign as they suffered a 4-1 aggregate defeat.De Zerbi said: “Today we saw…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Seventy-eight protesters were ordered to do five hours of community service and pay restitution to avoid criminal proceedings for allegedly blocking traffic on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for hours in November to demand a cease-fire in Gaza, prosecutors said.The Nov. 16 protest came as San Francisco was hosting President Joe Biden and other world leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Protesters calling for a cease-fire have also blocked major roadways in cities including…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Mohamed Salah’s relentless drive to score goals will never end.The Egypt international scored in the 6-1 Europa League demolition of Sparta Prague to bring up his 20th goal of the season, becoming the first player in the club’s history to reach that mark in seven successive campaigns.“In seven years together with him, the one problem we never had was consistency,” said Klopp after the Egypt international’s first start since New Year’s Day…

Trump says 2024 election will be ‘single most important day in history of our country’Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailManhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has asked the judge overseeing the hush-money case against Donald Trump for a 30-day delay in the trial – just 11 days before jury selection was to begin.On Thursday, Mr Bragg asked Judge Juan Merchan to push back the trial so prosecutors could review approximately 31,000 pages of additional records submitted on Wednesday.“Based on our initial review of yesterday’s…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Aston Villa boss Unai Emery said Ollie Watkins’ knee injury sustained in the 4-0 Europa Conference League last-16 win over 10-man Ajax was “not more than a cut”.Watkins, named in England boss Gareth Southgate’s latest squad earlier on Thursday, headed Villa in front in the 25th minute, having already sustained the injury in a challenge with Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj.But the former Brentford striker limped off eight minutes later and had to watch his team-mates run riot…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USFlorida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is sending extra security to the state’s southern tip in anticipation of a potential influx of migrants from Haiti.Haiti has been in a state of emergency ever since violent gangs stormed the airport, seaport and prison earlier this month, setting thousands of inmates free. Several police stations have also been torched. The state of emergency is expected to last until 3 April.Global leaders, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, are…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter David Moyes hailed a “brilliant achievement” after West Ham reached another European quarter-final by flattening Freiburg 5-0.Hammers boss Moyes uncharacteristically named an attacking line-up in a bid to repair the damage of the 1-0 Europa League first-leg defeat in Germany last week.He was rewarded with a sparkling display as goals from Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Aaron Cresswell and two from Mohammed Kudus – including a sensational solo effort – secured a 5-1 aggregate win and a place…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailA federal judge appointed to the bench by Donald Trump has rejected one of his attempts to dismiss criminal charges stemming from his retention of classified documents stashed at his Mar-a-Lago property.After arguments in a federal courtroom in Florida on Thursday, US District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed his lawyers’ arguments that 32 charges against the former president under the Espionage Age are unconstitutionally “vague”.The resolution of the defence’s question “depends too greatly on contested instructional questions about still-fluctuating…