Golds and Goals moments: Liverpool enjoy view from the top

So many sports happenings, so little time – but we’re here to help. Yahoo News Singapore picks the top sporting moments of this past week, and tries to make sense of what had happened.

1. Reds take over faltering City atop EPL

There is a new leader atop the English Premier League, as Manchester City slumped to their first league defeat of the season, falling 0-2 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (8 December).

It was the defending champions’ first league defeat in eight months, and one bad result does not change the fact that they remain a brilliantly efficient football team. However, against Chelsea, they missed the deadly scoring instincts of the injured Sergio Aguero, and struggled to finish off their intricate passing game.

It means that Liverpool, who have been hot on Man City’s heels throughout the season, were able to hang on to their one-point advantage atop the league table, after they emerged triumphant in the early Saturday kick-off, beating Bournemouth 4-0.

The Reds have found a new defensive strength since the turn of the year, with centre-back Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson Becker leading a miserly backline that conceded just six goals in 16 league matches this season, the best in the EPL.

And with their attack line reaching peak form after a slow start – Mohamed Salah netting a hat-trick against Bournemouth, for instance – they are tipped to push this season’s title race with Man City right down to the wire, starting with Sunday’s highly-anticipated clash with Manchester United at Anfield.

2. Messi finds perfect riposte to critics

You might know Lionel Messi. Arguably the best footballer in the world for much of the last 10 years, the Barcelona wizard suffered what his ardent supporters felt were two slights in the past week.

First of all, at the annual Ballon d’Or award ceremony last Monday (3 December), Real Madrid’s Croatian playmaker Luka Modric claimed the prestigious award for the first time. A deserved winner for his contributions to both club and country, but social media was abuzz about the fact that Messi was rated only the fifth-best player in the world this past year despite leading Barca to their third Spanish La Liga title in four years.

Then on Thursday, he suffered further ignominy when football legend Pele launched an astonishing criticism of the Argentinian star in Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, saying that he “only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn’t head the ball well”.

Whether Messi took those two “insults” to heart, only he knows. But on Saturday, when Barcelona played city rivals Espanyol, the 31-year-old put on a masterful display of his exceptional skills in a 4-0 win. He scored twice – both from direct free-kicks – and created another for Ousmane Dembele in a brilliant performance that fans have come to expect of him.

Long may he continue proving his detractors wrong.

3. No lift-off for sputtering Rockets

With about a third of the National Basketball Association (NBA) season done, the Conference standings are beginning to resemble what it was last season. The Toronto Raptors are still leading the Eastern Conference just like last season, with new superstar addition Kawhi Leonard adding a newfound defensive steel to their deep squad.

The Western Conference, as predicted, is seeing a tight bunch at the top of the standings. Defending champions Golden State Warriors are barely leading the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers, while LeBron James’ fast-improving Los Angeles Lakers are just a couple of steps behind.

The biggest surprise must be the Houston Rockets. Last year’s Western Conference champions are languishing in 14th of the 15-team conference, with a poor 11-14 win-loss record, and have lost all three of their games last week. In their previous game on Saturday against a rebuilding Dallas Mavericks, they somehow let an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter slip away, in a 104-107 defeat.

What is wrong with James Harden and gang? They had an unsuccessful experiment in bringing in Carmelo Anthony, whose ball-hogging tendencies undermined the team’s fluid offence so much that he was cut within 14 games of the season.

Yet the problem remains with their defence. Even when they were outscoring opponents for fun last season, they also allowed opponents to score at will. This season, with the departure of key defender Trevor Ariza, the Rockets have regressed alarmingly in defence.

Even though Harden is continuing his massive scoring output, it is not nearly enough this season. The Rockets badly need to trade for an elite defender to try and sneak into the playoffs. The only good news for them is that there is still two-thirds of the season left to salvage.

4. Slingers poised for another great season

Meanwhile, Singapore’s only professional basketball team, the Slingers, is doing pretty well so far in the 10-team Asean Basketball League (ABL).

On Sunday, they recorded their fourth consecutive victory with a 99-77 victory over the Macau-based Wolf Warriors. The win gave the Slingers a 4-1 win-loss record, and second place in the league behind Taiwan’s Formosa Dreamers, who have a perfect 5-0 record.

The Slingers have been knocking on the doors of the ABL title for the last four seasons, reaching the finals twice but still unable to emerge as champions. Nonetheless, they consistently put out a strong team every season, and play to crowds of about 1,500 in their home games at the OCBC Arena at the Singapore Sports Hub.

With their three American imports Xavier Alexander, John Fields and Jerran Young leading the way with local talents like Delvin Goh, Desmond Oh and Ng Han Bin, the Slingers are looking capable of another deep play-off run this season.

5. Botched celebration turns viral

You have trained hard for the gruelling cross-country race, which you had won last year. And it looked like it was all going to be worth it as you reached the last stretch in the lead. It was time to celebrate.

All these thoughts might have been going through Frenchman Jimmy Gressier’s mind as he made his final surge to the finish line at the European Under-23 Cross Country Championships in Tilburg, Netherlands, on Sunday.

He grabbed two France flags from the crowd in preparation for a grand victory pose, and then this happened:

Not the most graceful of all finishes. But it made for a memorable and hilarious viral video. And Gressier managed to smile it off, no doubt he had won the race in an impressive 23min 37sec.