LONDON-- West Ham United missed out on a fourth successive Premier League victory as the festive fixtures concluded with a drab 0-0 draw at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday. Brighton would have moved above West Ham into sixth place with a victory but chances were few and far between at the London Stadium with a point apiece a fair outcome. Pascal Gross should have put Brighton in front shortly before halftime but his header was saved by Alphonse Areola while Adam Lallana went close to a late winner. Pablo Fornals should have done better for the hosts after the break and Tomas Soucek also prodded an effort wide. In the end West Ham, without African Cup of Nations-bound Mohammed Kudus and injured fellow midfielder Lucas Paqueta, appeared content to take the draw which left them in sixth spot with 34 points from 20 games. Brighton's first clean sheet of the season in the league moved them above Manchester United into seventh on goal difference with 31 points. While the game will not live long in the memory, both sides can embrace the New Year optimistically with European honours still possible and a challenge for a top-six place in the Premier League. "It was disappointing from our point of view because I think we controlled the game and created enough chances," Brighton's 37-year-old midfielder James Milner told Sky Sports. "But it was a solid performance especially with a couple of boys coming back who haven't had too much football." The evergreen Milner was making his 632nd Premier League appearance to move level with Ryan Giggs and only Gareth Barry (653) has played more matches in the competition West Ham won the reverse fixture earlier in the season -- ending a 13-match winless streak against Brighton. But they could not earn a first top-flight win at home against the south-coast club since 1983. "We had a couple of chances. Tomas Soucek had a great chance," West Ham boss David Moyes said. "We rode our luck a wee bit. It's been a really good Christmas period, three wins and a draw. No complaints."
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium December 31. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports.)
NEW YORK--The Miami Dolphins, the Buffalo Bills and three AFC South clubs are among the eight NFL teams who control their own playoff destinies in Week 18. The Dolphins (11-5) will host the Bills (10-6) in the final game of the regular season Sunday night, with the winner clinching the AFC East title. The Dolphins would also get in with a tie, while the Bills still can wind up as the sixth or seventh seed in a few other scenarios, including a loss or tie by the Jacksonville Jaguars or Pittsburgh Steelers. The three-team race in the AFC South features the Jaguars, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts, all currently 9-7. The Jaguars control their destiny to win the division title simply by beating the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon, but when the Texans visit the Colts on Saturday night, the winner will be guaranteed at least a playoff bid. If Jacksonville loses to or ties with Tennessee, the Houston-Indianapolis winner will win the AFC South and the right to host a playoff game as the No. 4 seed. In the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys (11-5) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8) are one win away from clinching the NFC East and South titles, respectively. Dallas visits Washington on Sunday and can also secure the division banner if the Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) lose to the New York Giants. If the Eagles win and Dallas loses or ties -- or if the Eagles tie and the Cowboys lose -- then Philadelphia will lock up the NFC East crown despite a 1-4 December. Tampa Bay visits the league-worst Carolina Panthers, and if the Buccaneers tie, they'd still fend off the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons for the NFC South crown if New Orleans loses to or ties with Atlanta. The Saints (8-8) need to finish with a better record than the Buccaneers (8-8) to win the division, so they need a win and a Tampa Bay loss or tie, or a Saints tie plus a Bucs loss. The Falcons (7-9) can only win the division by beating the Saints and having the Buccaneers lose, forcing a three-way tie at 8-9 that Atlanta would win via tiebreaker. There is also one NFC wild-card spot still up for grabs, and in that race, the Green Bay Packers (8-8) control their destiny. They have six clinching scenarios for Week 18, but the simplest one is to beat the visiting Chicago Bears. Also in the chase are the Seattle Seahawks (8-8), the Minnesota Vikings (7-9), the Saints and the Buccaneers. The Seahawks will grab the wild-card berth if they beat the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay loses or ties. If Seattle happens to tie with Arizona, a Green Bay loss and a loss or tie by either Tampa Bay or New Orleans would also let the Seahawks sneak in. The Vikings must beat the Detroit Lions and get losses from the Packers and Seahawks, plus a loss by either the Buccaneers or the Saints. The biggest prizes of the regular season were decided in Week 17 when the Baltimore Ravens (13-3) and San Francisco 49ers (12-4) clinched the No. 1 seeds in the AFC and NFC, respectively. The Ravens may choose to rest their players in Week 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh, at 9-7, still has a path to grab an AFC wild-card berth: 1. PIT win + BUF loss OR 2. PIT win + JAX loss or tie OR 3. PIT win + HOU-IND tie OR 4. PIT tie + JAX loss + HOU-IND doesn't end in tie OR 5. JAX loss + DEN win + HOU-IND doesn't end in tie.
BURNLEY, England-- Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League as Darwin Nunez's first league goal for almost two months helped them to a 2-0 victory at struggling Burnley on Tuesday. Nunez's precision finish after six minutes gave Liverpool a flying start at Turf Moor but Juergen Klopp's side were unable to kill off the hosts as the second goal would not come. Mohamed Salah was denied by the crossbar and both Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott had goals disallowed as Burnley hung on but Diogo Jota's 90th-minute effort sealed the points. Nineteenth-placed Burnley had chances of their own in the second half and almost snatched an equaliser when Jacob Bruun Larsen's shot went agonisingly wide of the post. Liverpool's first win in three league games moved them above Arsenal as they reached the halfway point of the season on 42 points. Arsenal, who have 40, host West Ham United on Thursday. There was a sense of relief when substitute Jota fired in from a tight angle for his 50th Liverpool goal after a sweeping move as the points should have long been in the bag. "We put hurdles in front of us and eventually we find a way to get over them but it's unbelievable," Klopp told Amazon Prime. "We played an incredible game but it was only 1-0 and then they realised something was possible. "They could have scored an equaliser that would have been insane and then with the most difficult situation in the whole game we made it 2-0." Liverpool, held to home draws by Manchester United and Arsenal in their last two games, totally dominated the opening stages and Nunez produced a silky finish to curl an effort inside goalkeeper James Trafford's post after Gakpo's set-up. Salah should have made it 2-0 after good work by Gakpo and Nunez but his shot was well saved by Trafford. Gakpo then had the ball in the net but his effort was disallowed for a foul in the build-up by Nunez. Burnley played some neat football, as is their style, but lived dangerously as Salah rattled the crossbar with a dipping drive after being played in by Joe Gomez. The pattern continued after the break and Elliott produced a sharp finish but VAR again came to Burnley's rescue as referee Paul Tierney disallowed the goal for offside against Salah. That let-off inspired Burnley and they began to threaten an equaliser with Larsen giving Liverpool a big fright before Jota finally put the game to bed.
South Africa’s Dean Elgar in action against India during their First Test at SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium, Centurion, South Africa.
PRETORIA-- An unbeaten century from veteran Dean Elgar and fifty on debut from David Bedingham allowed South Africa to take an 11-run lead with five wickets in hand over India when bad light ended play on the second day of the first test at Centurion on Wednesday.
VITORIA-GASTEIZ, Spain--A stoppage time header by fullback Lucas Vazquez earned 10-man Real Madrid a 1-0 victory at lowly Alaves in LaLiga on Thursday, with defender Nacho handed his marching orders following a sliding tackle. The win left Real Madrid on top of the standings on goal difference, level on 45 points with surprise package Girona who were held to a 1-1 draw at Real Betis earlier on Thursday. Barcelona are third on 38 points. Real's old rivals Barcelona are a distant third on 38 points, three ahead Atletico Madrid who have a game in hand and host Sevilla on Saturday. A toothless Real Madrid failed to create almost any opportunities as they looked to be heading towards a dull goalless draw against a rugged Alaves who are struggling standing on 17th place in the LaLiga standings, but are tough to beat when roared on by their fans at the Mendizorroza stadium, having earned 13 of their 16 points playing at home. They made it difficult for Real, whose only real chance in the first half was when Uruguay midfielder Federico Valverde unleashed a thunderous strike from range that goalkeeper Antonio Sivera punched away in the 37th minute. But after loosing Nacho to a straight red in the 54th minute after an awful studs up sliding tackle to Samu Omorodion's ankle, Real started to show signs of life. While Alaves looked content to snatch a point from their giant rivals, Real were more purposeful going forward, missed some half chances and nearly drew first blood when Rodrygo barely missed the top left corner with a curling strike in the 75th minute. But they finally scored one minute into added time when Toni Kroos lifted a corner to Vazquez who headed home from the crowded box. A last-gasp goal and triumph that were passionately celebrated by Real Madrid players and staff, who let off steam after a troubled night and a narrow win. "This team has unknown energies," Carlo Ancelotti told a press conference. "It was a complicated match and with one man down... everyone thought that today would be a typical day for us to slip up. "But we held on well with ten men, we defended well and, in the end, we were rewarded."
