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Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper was ejected for charging Colorado’s dugout, and Kyle Freeland dominated for six innings on his 30th birthday in the Rockies’ 4-0 win

It is the 36th game of their Premier League season and Liverpool, on a late charge towards the Champions League places, are away in the Midlands. Needing victory, they are drawing as the game enters the 95th minute. And then goalkeeper turns goalscorer. West Bromwich Albion suffered the indignity of conceding to Alisson in 2021. History is unlikely to repeat itself at Leicester on Monday, even if it falls on the eve of the second anniversary of the only goal ever scored by a Liverpool goalkeeper. But, once again, they are aiming for the improbable, encouraged by their memories. “A lot of times when I look on Twitter for news, that goal appears in my timeline,” Alisson said. “This week I watched it already. It’s good, it made me feel good. It makes me think how crazy it is that I scored a goal. It was kind of a sign for us that something special was coming. Because I can be 100 times in the box, I don’t know if I will score again. I know now I can head a ball in a good way, but hopefully we are not going to need it again. I think this season we are having special moments, [Diogo] Jota’s goal is a really special one against Tottenham; last minute as well.” Finish in the top four and Alisson may go down as the architect of another great escape, albeit in more conventional fashion. He has been overworked and outstanding. He entered the weekend with fifth most saves in the division and having prevented the most goals, according to goalkeeping statistics relating to the quality of opportunities. “Sometimes the goalie performances comes when the team is not playing so good and conceding more chances,” he reflected. That has been the case this season; he is the frontrunner to be named Liverpool’s player of the year. He already has one memento; he was presented with a shirt with ‘100’ on the back by Jurgen Klopp, marking his century of Liverpool clean sheets. “The goal is special but the clean sheets are better,” Alisson said. There are, he hopes, many more to come. “One hundred is a lot for me now but in comparison to the great goalies in Liverpool’s history it is not even 50 per cent of what they achieved. They got over 200 clean sheets.” He is the seventh goalkeeper to register 100 for Liverpool, but it may be a table even he cannot top. Not when Ray Clemence recorded 323 shutouts and Bruce Grobbelaar a further 267; it helped that Anfield greats made 665 and 628 appearances respectively. “I don’t know if I can play as many matches as them,” said Alisson, currently on 229. “I think Ray had over 600 matches for Liverpool, but I’m already looking forward to the next 50 or 100 clean sheets, and for the next one in the next match we have. It would be special to be alongside them or to beat them, I admire a lot what the great goalies did, but I’m writing my own story here at Liverpool.” That story is nowhere near its final chapter. Alisson is still only 30 and with a deal until 2027. His commitment stems from much more than a contract, however. Alisson’s father, Jose Agostinho Becker, drowned in 2021. Lockdown restrictions meant he was unable to return to Brazil. His Anfield family instead offered support. “I never imagined to go through a moment like that in my life,” he recalled, a tear in the eye. “Nobody thinks about losing their Dad or Mum suddenly but so many people at that moment were losing loved ones in Covid times and I think the world was in a place where everybody was ready to show love for people. Not only at Liverpool, though the boys here at the club were amazing: I think they felt my pain together. “I took three days at home after my dad passed away and I was looking forward to coming back here, to this place, because I felt already the love. Not only here but from the football world, I was really touched. I received so many letters from managers, from clubs that I never imagined I would receive.” A couple of months later, Alisson emerged in the West Brom box to score a goal that led Liverpool on a path that ended in the 2022 Champions League final, that almost brought a quadruple. Now, once again, there is the hope a difficult campaign can end on a high. “We are having similar challenges,” he said. And if there is unlikely to be a similar solution, another Alisson header, his shutouts offer the prospect of further success. “Keeping clean sheets keeps you closer to victories,” he said. So, too, does his bond with Liverpool. “When I signed a long-term deal at this club, I thought a lot at this moment that everybody was there for me and I have this feeling that I want to be here for the club as well,” he said. “To keep making history, keep this atmosphere that we have as a family.” Read More Jurgen Klopp backs Liverpool to revive title rivalry with Man City next season No identity, no intensity: How Southampton were relegated from the Premier League Erik ten Hag finally within sight of matching a past Manchester United great... no, not that one

Bruno Fernandes has been delighted by Alejandro Garnacho’s progress but warned the Manchester United teenager that he cannot relax if he is going to fulfil his potential. A year and two days after his starring role in the club’s FA Cup Youth Cup triumph against Nottingham Forest, the 18-year-old was once again in goalscoring form at Old Trafford on Saturday. Garnacho had been out for two months with an ankle injury and he returned with a bang against Wolves, with the substitute scoring a fine, late goal in front of the Stretford End to wrap up a 2-0 win. Skipper Fernandes threaded through the Argentinian to score and hopes the nascent talent can “score much more until the end of the season.” “Obviously, we know Garna can change games,” the Portugal midfielder said. “He plays with pace, he can take players one against one. “But he’s still developing himself, so we don’t have to go and push so much to him because he’s still a young kid. “He can do great things, but in the future he has to do much better than actually he is doing because he has more than the capability to be even better than he is actually (right now). “He’s been doing amazing for the first season he’s been playing in the Premier League, with more minutes, with more consistency. He’s doing great, but we all know he can do much more for us.” Garnacho recently signed a new deal keeping him at Old Trafford until 2028 after impressing in his first full season as a first-team player. He has also won around Erik ten Hag having irked him during pre-season, with Fernandes claiming he “didn’t have the best attitude” during that period. “That message was from the manager, it was not from me,” Fernandes said. “I just heard what the manager said. “What I have to say to Garnacho, I tell him at the training ground, whenever we are eating, on the training ground or wherever. “If he wants to hear, he hears. If not, he doesn’t but I try to help. “I think he did an interview talking about me trying to help him a lot of times, and that’s what I’m trying to do. “But, obviously, as I said, he’s still young, and I don’t want to give too much compliments because you know when you’re young, you get too many compliments, you can get a little bit relaxed and everything. “We need this Alejandro coming on and making goals, making assists, getting back to recover balls – everything. “But I think if he wasn’t doing what he needed to do, he wouldn’t be playing. We need this Alejandro coming on and making goals, making assists, getting back to recover balls – everything Bruno Fernandes on Alejandro Garnacho “At the beginning of the season, the manager didn’t give him any chances because he thought that he wasn’t being the best, and now he’s getting his chances. “He’s been playing a lot this season because he’s training well, he’s doing what he has to do and he’s getting his rewards – and the team are getting the rewards as well, and that’s the most important thing.” Garnacho’s adaptation from youth football to the top end has also impressed Fernandes, saying his team-mate is reaping the rewards of his hard work. “I think he’s doing very well and he’s training every time with us, so that makes him be more prepared for the games,” he said. “But mentally he’s being much better also because I think he understood what it takes to be a professional player. “He is doing that, taking that and he is working a lot also in the gym with the coaches, so he is getting his rewards. “He’s getting his rewards because he is training well because if he wasn’t he is not even playing I’m pretty sure.” Garnacho’s return is a welcome boost for United with three Premier League games left in the race for the top four before the FA Cup final against Manchester City. “We know it will be tough to get the top four but it depends on ourselves and everything is in our hands so we have to do our job,” Fernandes added. “I’m not worried about Liverpool – I’m worried about us doing our job because it’s about ourselves. “Like I said, if we do our job properly, if we win our games, we will be in the Champions League so we don’t need to look at the table or look at other teams.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Geraint Thomas assumes Giro lead as Covid dashes Remco Evenepoel’s hopes James Anderson suffers ‘mild’ groin strain one month out from Ashes Cameron Norrie advances at Italian Open to set up Novak Djokovic last-16 clash

Trevor Larnach hit a three-run homer, Joey Gallo homered for the second straight game and Louie Varland pitched 6 1/3 solid innings for the Minnesota Twins in a 16-3 win against the Chicago Cubs

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Mitch Keller struck out a career-high 13 in seven innings and the slumping Pittsburgh Pirates won for only the second time in 13 games, 4-0 over the Baltimore Orioles