Man City launch Ramadan Esports Football Cup in MENA region

BRASILIA: Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker has returned early to his club Liverpool after suffering a bang to the head while on international duty, the Brazilian football federation (CBF) announced Friday.
The 32-year-old collided with opposing defender Davinson Sanchez in Brazil’s 2-1 win against Colombia in South American 2026 World Cup qualifying action on Thursday.
Under FIFA’s concussion protocol, Alisson left the field in the 78th minute and must take a break, meaning he will miss out on Brazil’s clash with Argentina.
“Alisson, who suffered a head knock, is fine and has no medical complaints,” a CBF statement read.
“However, he needs to follow FIFA’s concussion protocol...(and) will return to (his) club to continue the recovery process.”
Alisson joins a mounting list of injuries in the Liverpool squad, with defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley already on the treatment table.
Another concern for manager Arne Slot is midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, who withdrew from the Netherlands squad on Wednesday with a fitness issue.
Liverpool sit 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League and are next in action on April 2 when they host local rivals Everton.

SHANGHAI: Lewis Hamilton has astonished the crowd and himself by securing his maiden Sprint pole position for Ferrari in the final moments of qualifying at the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix.
Hamilton arrived in China after a disappointing season-opening race last weekend in Australia, where he finished 10th. He only managed fourth fastest in opening practice Friday for a modest improvement in Shanghai.
He topped the first section of sprint qualifying, before the dominant McLaren of Lando Norris took over in SQ2. An aborted lap from the McLaren driver, following a mistake on his final lap, handed Hamilton his chance – and the seven-time world champion took it in stunning style with less than a minute remaining.
Hamilton’s time was just 18 one-thousandths of a second ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, with Mercedes’ George Russell closing out the top-five.
“I didn’t expect that result, but so, so happy and so proud,” Hamilton said. “I think obviously the last race was a disaster. Clearly we knew that there was more performance in the car but we just weren’t able to extract it,” in Melbourne.
“So to come here to a track that I love — and the car really came alive. The team did a fantastic job to get the car ready and yeah, I’m a bit in shock.”