Top 5 sporting moments of the weekend


By Neo Poho

The first weekend of March produced some astonishing results as Liverpool dismantled Manchester United while Stellenbosch FC ended Sundowns' 15 match winning streak and Fernando Alonso was back at the podium in Bahrain.

1.Soweto Giants defeat Swallows FC and Richards Bay respectively while Sundowns played out to 1-1 draw in Stellenbosch

Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs won their match day 22 fixtures of the DSTV Premiership on Friday and Saturday, defeating Swallows FC and Richards Bay FC respectively.

Pirates had Monnapule Saleng to thank after he produced a masterclass of a performance in Pirates' 4-1 victory over Swallows FC in the original Soweto Derby at the Dobsonville Stadium on Friday night.

Saleng stole the show against his former side after scoring a hat-trick and providing an assist to Terrence Dzvukamanja to also claim the man of the match accolade in the process.

With head coach Jose Riviero back on the bench, Saleng broke the deadlock in the 6th minute of the encounter after a beautiful delivery by Kabelo Dlamini from the left hand side.

The score was 1-0 heading into halftime however, Riviero's halftime team talk proved to be effective as Pirates come out guns blazing and Dzvukamanja was at hand to score their second goal two minutes into the second half of match much to the delight of the visiting fans.

Two then turned into three as Saleng was at it again on the hour mark as Pirates ran riot to cement their dominance in the encounter, although Swallows pulled a goal back through Mthokozisi Shwabule in the 76th minute, Saleng completed the drubbing in the 90th minute of the encounter.

The victory means that Pirates bounced back perfectly from their 1-0 loss to Kaizer Chiefs on the 25th of February in some style, defeating another familiar foe in Soweto.

The Buccaneers will now start to prepare for another tricky encounter over the weekend as they welcome Venda Football Academy at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday in the Nedbank Cup last 16.

Meanwhile in KZN, Kaizer Chiefs did the league double over Richards Bay having defeated the KZN side before in the reverse fixture last year.

The match at the King Zwelithini Stadium saw Chiefs score as early as the 8th minute through a Siyabonga Ngezana header that connected beautifully with Mduduzi Shabalala's cross in the box.

The solitary goal was enough for Amakhosi to seal all the three points in a match where their coach Arthur Zwane believes Chiefs should have won by a bigger margin of goals however, it wasn't to be as they couldn't convert the chances created.

The Glamour Boys have now leapfrogged Richards Bay in the league to go fourth on 34 points trailing second place SuperSport United by 5 points.

Amakhosi will next face Casric Stars next weekend in the Nedbank Cup last 16 at the FNB Stadium.

In other notable results from the DSTV Premiership during the past weekend, Mamelodi Sundowns played out to 1-1 draw against Stellenbosch FC while Amazulu defeated Chippa United 2-0 and Cape Town City claimed all the three points against Maritzburg United at the Harry Gwala Stadium.

2.Liverpool demolish Manchester United at Anfield

Liverpool thumped Manchester United 7-0 in Sunday's English Premier League encounter at Anfield.

Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah each scored two goals in an extraordinary performance by Jurgen Klopp's side before Roberto Firmino added the seventh as United capitulated amid scenes of wild jubilation among the home support.

Although United came into the match on a 11 games unbeaten record, they were nowhere to be found especially in the second half conceding 6 goals amid a raucous atmosphere on a never-to-be-forgotten afternoon for Liverpool fans.

The 7-0 victory means that Jurgen Klopp's men set a new record margin of victory in the clash between English football's two most successful clubs.

Speaking of records, Salah's second goal on the night meant that the Egyptian is now Liverpool's English Premier League top goal scorer on 129 goals surpassing Robbie Fowler on 128.

Speaking after the match, Salah described the moment as being special, "It's very special I can't lie, it was always in my head since I came here, I am going home with my family to have camomile tea and celebrate," Salah said.

Just a second defeat in 23 games in all competitions realistically ends United's hopes of a first league title in a decade as they remain 14 points adrift of leaders Arsenal in third.

United coach Erik Ten Hag thought his team had a better first half than the second, "I think we played a decent first half although we conceded a goal just before halftime, the second half was just a disaster, we didn't have a winning attitude at all and we didn't stick to the plan it was just an unprofessional display," an angry Ten Hag said.

United will now turn their attention to Real Betis on Thursday in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League while Liverpool will travel to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday for a clash with Bournemouth.

3.Mbappe reigns in Paris

French star Kylian Mbappe has become Paris St Germain’s all-time top scorer after he helped his side extend its Ligue 1 lead to a provisional 11 points in a 4-2 home win against Nantes. 

Mbappe had to wait until the 92nd minute but was clinical as he turned to finish left-footed and go clear of Edinson Cavani at the top of the PSG goal list.

After the match, the 24-year-old Mbappe was handed a trophy by the club to mark his record in an on-field presentation.

Mbappe who joined PSG in 2017 from Monaco said "I play to make history, I have always said I want to make history in France, in the capital of my country, in my city and I am doing that, It's magnificent but there's still a lot to be done,"

This season, the forward has now scored 30 goals and made eight assists - taking his total to 85 for the club in 247 games.

4.Max Verstappen wins his maiden Bahrain Grand Prix

Max Verstappen has won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the first time in his career as the world champion led home a dominant one-two for Red Bull at the Sakhir International Circuit.

Verstappen, aiming for a third straight world title this year, won his first-ever season-opener at a canter after holding his pole position at the start and then racing away, with favourites Red Bull enjoying a dream one-two.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was dealt with a major blow when he suffered a crushing Ferrari power failure with 17 laps remaining while Carlos Sainz was passed by the impressive Fernando Alonso, who secured his first podium since 2014 on his debut for Aston Martin.

Lewis Hamilton could only finish fifth while his Mercedes team-mate George Russell was seventh and Lando Norris endured a nightmare race for McLaren, with Alex Albon picking up an impressive point for Williams in 10th.

Next up is the Saudi Arabian grand prix on the 19th of March at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

5.Week 15 of the United Rugby Championship was full of drama

The latest round of the United Rugby Championship saw two South African derbies being the headline fixtures of the weekend.

The Stormers defeated the Sharks 29-23 in an entertaining encounter at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

John Dobson’s charges raced into a 19-6 half-time lead as the Sharks rallied late in the second half, scoring two quick tries, with the Stormers going down to 13 men after yellow cards to Sazi Sandi and Seabelo Senatla.

However, the Sharks' attack was too little too late as the Stormers managed to hang on for the victory, the win means that the Stormers strengthen their hold on second spot in the URC standings.

In another encounter in the URC, Sanele Nohamba scored 24 points as the Lions shocked the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening.

After leading 23-13 at halftime, the Lions held their nerve to clinch their first URC victory over the Bulls, the victory means that the Johannesburg-based team has now jumped to 11th on the log, three positions away from qualifying for the playoffs.

In other notable results from the past weekend, Munster thrashed the Scarlets 49-42 on Friday night while Glasgow Warriors humbled Zebre 50-8 in another clash on Friday.

Saturday saw Leinster claim an impressive away victory by defeating Edinburgh 47-27 and the Dragons lost 22-20 to Connacht.

The next round of the URC will commence on the 24th of March with Leinster hosting the Stormers.

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